


Ghost Story

by Genuinelies



Category: Weiss Kreuz, Weiß Kreuz
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 04:18:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 58,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9106348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genuinelies/pseuds/Genuinelies
Summary: Yohji's housemates decide he needs help with a problem he doesn't want discovered, but that's pretty hard when you're being watched so carefully. But is someone watching the watchers?(Old!Fic - originally posted to LJ, re-posting here for posterity)





	1. Chapter 1

"You've noticed too, haven't you?" Omi whispered conspiratorily. He sidled over to his companion in the flower shop. She was staring in - awe? Horror? - out the window at Yohji. His teammate was fending off a throng of fangirls flooding the cart of flowers on the sidewalk. Not that a single one of them was there for the flowers.  
  
Aya-chan startled, a guilty flush on the ridges of her Fujimiya cheekbones. "Noticed?" She echoed anyway.   
  
Omi suspected she knew what he was talking about. He might have let the issue drop, but he was becoming worried he was the _only_ one who saw it. Ken began stammering and then made a mess of anything within arm's reach whenever he brought it up, so there wasn't anyone else he could really convince. And if that were the case, if he were really just seeing things, what would that say about him?   
  
... _Except that wasn't the real reason he wanted affirmation. The truth was, he was just a romantic, and if the two of them could find something so pure, when they were both so jaded -_  
  
Too bad that Aya never, ever, _ever_ would go for it.  
  
"Aya-chan!" Omi's voice had taken on a wheedling quality.   
  
_Or,_ Omi faced the new thought with a bit of horror, _Maybe Aya-chan had turned into one of Yohji's fangirls?_ That was an _awful_ thought!  
  
"I'm going to the storeroom. Mind the register." Aya - _Ran? That hadn't really been clarified for Omi yet_ \- stated from behind the two teenagers. Omi turned to watch him retreat.   
  
The good thing about Yohji being outside was that there were absolutely no customers inside. The older man wasn't always so accomodating, but every once in a while he'd give the rest of them a break. Omi didn't exactly have proof, but he suspected it was always on days after a date had gone badly. Even he wasn't going to argue that the attention wasn't flattering. It was unfortunately just largely more annoying.  
  
Omi turned back to Aya-chan, who was rearranging the same vase of flowers she'd been fiddling with for the past ten minutes. He saw her glance up beneath her lashes, then finally sigh. He looked outside himself in time to catch an expression on Yohji's face that was nearing hopelessness and bordering relief. He'd aimed the look at the shop, but it definitely wasn't at Omi or Aya-chan. The older man had turned seamlessly back to the teenagers showering him with devotion.   
  
"Fine!" Aya-chan said. Omi jumped a bit. "So I do notice." She played with the edge of a carnation until a petal fell off. Omi decided not to say anything, even when she hid the damaged flower in the middle of the bouquet. She frowned, a little wrinkle appearing in the middle of her forhead.   
  
It didn't seem like she was about to say anything else within the next year. Omi turned earnest eyes on her, wide and blue. "Well?" He pressed.  
  
"I just didn't think...I thought I was being silly." She expanded.   
  
Omi chewed on his lip. She was as hard to get talking as her brother, sometimes! Luckily it was rare. "Aya-chan!" He cried, albeit quietly since Aya/Ran was still in the Koneko. "If you've noticed - well, Ken won't listen to me!"  
  
"Ran hasn't noticed, though." She said quietly. The frown was still there. She met Omi's eyes seriously, and it cut him off.   
  
Suddenly it struck Omi.   
  
Aya-chan was being protective. Of _Aya._  
  
"...Yohji-kun still talks about that girl...the one who died..."  
  
Omi's eyes widened. Aya/Ran would definitely not like that, if Yohji had been drunk enough to spill _that_ in front of his sister.  
  
"...and I really don't think...well," she smiled at Omi, and it brightened her entire face. She seemed to have done a 180 while she was talking, and it left Omi scrambling to guess what she was about to say. "Yohji-kun should be happy. He's a good person, I just think he's..." the smile faltered, it seemed Aya-chan couldn't quite define what Yohji was. "Anyway, if Ran does...I mean, he never said he liked any girls!" Her voice had almost become chipper. "I think he'd try really hard to make Ran happy!"   
  
Omi blinked, winded by the logic. "Uh, Aya-chan..."  
  
"We should tell Ran-kun!" She declared, also quietly.   
  
"I, uh, I really don't think..."  
  
"Oh, Omi!" Aya-chan smiled at him, and took his hands between her own. "If we tell him, then maybe he'll start noticing Yohji-kun!"  
  
 _He most definitely would,_ Omi thought dourly.  
  
"Aya-chan!" He exclaimed.   
  
Aya/Ran promptly reappeared in the shop. The two teens glanced sideways at him, identical blushes on their cheeks.   
  
He opened his mouth, seemed about to say something, but instead dumped a pair of scissors and a handful of flowers on the counter, then disappeared again into the back.  
  
"Aya-chan!" Omi repeated, this time in a hurried whisper. "I really don't think that's a good idea. Ay-Ran-kun is...I mean, I've just never seen him show any interest in things like that! In Yohji!"   
  
His face was burning. Actually saying that aloud was far, far worse and more nonsensical than just thinking it. For months, and months.  
  
Aya-chan bit her lip. "Maybe he just needs encouragement?"   
  
Omi shook his head firmly. _Encouragement to impale Yohji? Not that way! Oh, god._ "No." He felt dizzy he was blushing so hard. "But Yohji-kun is suffering."  
  
Aya-chan looked out the window. She was silent for a long moment. Omi wished he knew what she was thinking, because if he didn't know her better, he would have thought that she was looking at the older man's flirting and easy smile and taking him at face value, which would not have helped his case.   
  
"He has been gettting drunk more," she whispered finally. It made her sound like she was 40, which hurt Omi's head, because she looked about 12 (exactly like he did). "I think?" She turned back to Omi.   
  
He nodded affirmation. "But how do you know that?" He whispered back.  
  
"I come downstairs to watch TV when I can't sleep." She looked like she'd been caught stealing something. "Sometimes he's there."  
  
Oh, Aya/Ran would _definitely_ not like that. Although, it wouldn't be concern for her virtue or anything like that, it would be more that one of his teammates was that much of a slob, Omi was sure, and possibly fear that his sister would get an earful about the birds and the bees from a less-than-pure source.   
  
"...I guess I thought that was normal," Aya-chan finished weakly. "For him."  
  
Omi gave her a small smile. "Kind of. But kind of not too? Usually only when he...uhm..." He was about to say "When they had a bad mission" or "When something reminded him of his dead partner" but he didn't really want to inflict either of those statements on Aya-chan.  
  
"We could set Yohji-kun up!" Aya-chan exclaimed suddenly. Her eyes were wide again. She clapped her hands together and whirled on Omi. Her voice was a stage whisper. "You know...with a _guy._ "  
  
Omi's eyes widened. Yohji saved him from answering by backing his way into the shop, closing the door on a set of smooth, girly hands that were intent on being attached to him. Almost simultaneously, Aya/Ran reappeared with the rest of his flowers and a couple of vases from the storeroom. Although one moment before, Yohji had seemed both exhausted and not in the least likely to return outside, his nimble hand grabbed a flower - _Aya's mangled carnation,_ Omi noticed with some amusement - and disappeared promptly through the door again.   
  
Aya-chan caught him with her eyes. Omi gave an inaudible sigh and a small shrug.  
  
*****  
  
It was one a.m.  
  
Aya should have been asleep. He'd gone to bed at ten p.m. He'd read a book for an hour and finally set it aside to close his eyes at eleven p.m.   
  
He'd been staring at his alarm clock for two hours, watching the minutes tag-team themselves through the night.  
  
Footsteps in the hallway made his gaze shift to the door. No light was on, so no shadows bled through the crack by the floor. He heard them pass his room.   
  
Not going to a bedroom. Of course not. It was Yohji going out for the night.   
  
Aya slid out of his bed, waited for the creak on the stairs before he pulled on a tee shirt to complete the outfit with his grey boxers.   
  
He knew it was Yohji going out for the night because this was routine. Aya had been sneaking downstairs after Yohji for the past week - just like he was doing now. Aya pushed open his door and crept after the footsteps.  
  
He wasn't sure whether Yohji always had done this, and he'd just begun to notice, or whether this was a new personality quirk of his teammate's. He was unwilling to ask. He told himself he needed to know so that he would have a head count of who was in the Koneko in case it was breached, or they needed help. It was thoughtless of Yohji not to tell someone where he was going or when.   
  
After that first night, it had become Aya's routine to go downstairs to get a drink. He was up anyway. He unofficially saw Yohji off, though the man would never know it.   
  
The door hadn't opened or shut yet, so Aya took care to be silent as he padded down the stairs. He stalled three stairs up.  
  
No noise came from the kitchen. What the hell could Yohji be doing? He was tired, he wanted to go back to bed.   
  
A minute passed.   
  
"...Hello?" Yohji's voice, in a whisper.  
  
Aya held his breath.   
  
Four seconds, and the door opened and shut. Another minute, and the Seven purred to life and pulled out of the driveway, the sound of the engine fading quickly away.  
  
Aya breathed again, and entered the kitchen. He made himself a pot of decaffeinated green tea.  
  
Water, of course, could be gotten from the sink in his room. There would have been no motivation for him to go to the kitchen.  
  
He took the fresh pot of tea, a mug and the book he'd carried with him and left the kitchen to sit on the couch in the living room. He poured himself a cup and set the book aside. He didn't feel like reading. Instead, Aya drew his legs up on the cushions and wrapped an arm around his knees, staring at the blank television screen.  
  
He didn't understand how Yohji could bear to face the world. Aya himself hated it. It was filled with such hate, such violence, and humans were not stable creatures. He himself had transformed from a quiet, obedient child into a killer. His reasons were selfish. He had done it for personal revenge, for personal balance. His only redemption, and it was a spare redemption at that, was that he only murdered those that hurt the ones trying to live peacefully.   
  
It was to use this opportunity as an outlet for all his hurt and all his rage, or that he might turn into one of the ones that deserved to be hunted.  
  
Yohji, though. Yohji must think he was some sort of hero, protecting the weak. How could he bear to go out and pretend like he was one of them? Aya might not have experience, but he knew that the chances were slim Yohji wound up going home alone every night. How could Yohji feel justified lying to another person, and then becoming physically close with that person? The thought was abhorrent.   
  
But Yohji had never had a girlfriend while at the Koneko. Lots of women who had claimed they were, but no one who lasted more than three or four dates, and never consecutively. Did that mean the man was able to completely cut himself off from emotion?   
  
An image of green eyes that never quite smiled chased the thought away. That wasn't right. Aya's usual complaint was that Yohji felt too much, didn't think enough. Yohji was always warm with his dates, Aya had observed. It seemed like he truly liked the women he was with. All women he was with. Unemotional was almost laughably the antithesis of Yohji's being.   
  
So if he was able to go out again and again, and find someone nearly every time, what was it Yohji was looking for? Chemistry couldn't be all that special. You could find couples everywhere. If it was special, more people would wait, it would be harder to find someone, wouldn't it? The world was enormous. So what did Yohji find lacking in the hundreds of women Aya was sure were after him?  
  
Aya could not understand his teammate. Yohji had a chance to leave this lifestyle behind him, to move in with another person and live a normal life. Though he would never admit it out loud, Yohji did not seem to be bad at being a detective. He was annoyingly acute, in fact, when he wanted to be. Aya understood intellectually that Yohji had lost what he must have considered his soulmate, after Neu and Schrient his motivations had become utterly transparent. But death happened every day, and it did not turn everyone into what Yohji had become. If he was looking for closure, killing the girl was about as far as Aya could see it progressing.  
  
Aya himself was not looking for anyone, and he could not understand Yohji's motivations. He had never looked for anyone. When he was younger, he had assumed that it was assumed that when it was time, his parents would introduce him to a girl of their choice, and he would marry her. He had been a dutiful son, yes, but beyond that, he had been solitary. He had never met anyone he'd had a connection with deep enough to make it seem like it was worth the effort and time. He had companionship with his sister and enough obligations as it was with his parents.   
  
Now, of course, he simply wasn't interested. He was lonely at times, yes - sometimes he felt like he was in a fishbowl, looking through a glass cage at the world. But he couldn't imagine what his future would possibly be like after Weiss, and was never masochistic enough to try. There was no one on Earth that would be able to understand his life on a level that would allow them to connect.  
  
Yohji, though.   
  
Was it simply that the man needed an escape, and he found that through other people? Was he really able to pretend that his life was normal with them? It seemed so selfish to Aya, for Yohji to use others like that. Surely he realized that the people he hooked up with would be imagining futures with him. Their lives allowed it, their perspective was such that they had been trained their whole lives to imagine such a future with a person such as Yohji.  
  
The clock on the VCR showed that it was nearing three a.m. His meandering thoughts had taken him nearly an hour.  
  
A sudden click was all the warning Aya had before the scrape of the kitchen door opening was followed by a series of stumbling footsteps. There was a quiet thud, and some curses. Instead of heading upstairs, the noises were getting louder.  
  
Aya shot off the couch, kicking his book under the couch, and grabbing both his mug and teapot slid as quietly as he could into the closet. Game systems and movies were strewn about the floor, this was Ken's doing. Somehow, he managed not to trip on any of them, or make too much noise.   
  
It wasn't that he was feeling guilty. He had nothing to feel guilty about. He wasn't spying on Yohji when he did this, he just hadn't felt like sleeping. He was hiding because he didn't feel like talking to a drunk Yohji.  
  
A moment later the footsteps stopped in the middle of the room, followed by a soft sigh and the sound of fabric sliding against the sofa. Aya peered out through the crack he'd left in the closet door.  
  
On the couch, Yohji shot straight up from a lying position to stare around the room. The man's eyes were wide behind his sunglasses.  
  
It was night time, why the hell did the man still have those on?   
  
Yohji was frowning and peered around the room. He looked toward the closet and examined it for at least a minute.   
  
Aya quickly concealed himself, knowing his coloring simply did not blend in to the shadows well.   
  
"...Hello?"   
  
Aya held his breath. After a moment, Yohji muttered something to himself, shot the room a thorough look, and left.   
  
That was too close.  
  
*****  
  
Yohji's night had matched his day, they'd both been boring as hell. Yohji hadn't even bothered going to a club, but he couldn't sleep, either, so he ended up going out sometime after midnight to his usual haunt.   
  
_Haunt, now that was an appropriate word._ It was too fucking early, his sense of humor became twisted after midnight. 'Haunt' was the right word though. Spending time with Asuka's ghost in their coffee shop, reliving old memories.  
  
 _Hell, he'd turned into a barrel of laughs these days,_ Yohji pulled into the garage of the Koneko. He turned the engine off and locked the Seven up, rubbing a hand over his eyes. _And the boys probably think he'd been out partying._ What a joke.  
  
He was masochistic. He knew it, and couldn't stop, like any abuser. Asuka was becoming more of a constant refrain in his thoughts, and less the background chord. He'd thought he'd been getting better, since the ocean and the fall of those bastards. But the near-death experience had also left him with some shaky feelings that, once he'd named them, sucker-punched him in the gut with a new wave of guilt and pain over the loss of his partner and a new sense of hopelessness.   
  
_Because he could have found love with any woman, any woman at all, and he would have had a better shot at true love than with..._ It was just his crazy libido talking. Because of crazy adrenaline.   
  
Whatever the reasons, though, the emotions were still the fucking same, and they still brought back Asuka. His feeling was that if he was going to think about her anyway, full-on immersion was the way to go. So he went to their coffee shop, and kept going back, and he knew he was bound to go back again, when he should have been going to a bar and finding some nice woman and getting sloppy drunk.  
  
She wasn't there. She never was. And she hadn't left him any answers in the acidic cups of coffee or familiar faces of waiters. No forgiveness, either, or the permission he knew deep down he was seeking.  
  
 _Because the others didn't matter, and never would. Never will replace you._  
  
Yohji stumbled inside, from tiredness. The only thing he'd had to drink was burnt coffee. He eyed the stairs. He would have to exert effort to climb them. He stumbled toward the mission room instead, and flopped down on the couch.  
  
 _And still won't. No one will still replace you, because he...fuck, I'm not even gonna think it. I'm Yohji Kudoh. I don't pine..._ He rolled his eyes at himself, but it didn't dislodge the sick feeling that had become a constant in recent days. _Especially not after..._  
  
He closed his eyes, and clenched them against the prickling that had started there. _I miss you, Asuka._  
  
The Koneko was silent.  
  
...except for something that sounded like breathing.   
  
Yohji shot straight up.   
  
"...Hello?!"  
  
Nothing. The noise had stopped.   
  
There was no movement, no sounds except the persistent whirr of cicadas outside the window. Yohji frowned heavily. The back of his neck was tingling.  
  
A feeling like someone was watching him. But the shades were down on the window, and the only place to hide was the closet. The Koneko's doors were locked though, and it was simply ridiculous to think that one of Weiss were hiding in the closet. Especially not at howeverthehell early it was.  
  
After a moment, Yohji laid back down. He crossed his arms over his chest protectively.  
  
"You're losing it, Kudoh," he muttered.  
  
The feeling was still seriously creepy, valid or not. Five minutes was about all he could stand. With a sigh, mostly at himself, he launched himself to his feet and dragged his tired ass upstairs to his room.  
  
A small, irrational voice almost had him convinced that Asuka had followed him home.  
  
*****  
  
"You do know this is insane, right?" Omi offered doubtfully, looking at the young man headed toward the Koneko.   
  
Aya-chan jabbed him with her elbow. "He's over 18! I met him in the library. He's really sweet."  
  
"...how did you get him to come here again?" The "over-18-year-old" looked like he could have been Farfarello's cousin. He had bleach-blond hair to the point of needing sunglasses when you looked at him and was wearing a black, stomach-bearing getup that made Omi wince. Yohji had always seemed to like his women classy; surely that would apply to a male date too?  
  
"I know, I know!" Aya-chan sounded a little nervous. "He was wearing khakis in the library!" She caught Omi's eye. He gave her a weak smile. "Michiru saw him on a date with a boy last week! She told me in the library. So I went over and told him I knew someone he might like." She was sounding more jittery by the word. "Actually, when I mentioned 'flower shop,' I think he -"  
  
Omi would have actually liked to know what she thought he had, but suddenly Aya-chan turned and disappeared into the back room. Omi's hands had flown to his hips, but he was forced to look pleasant and busy when the bell tinkled and he realized the young man in question was in the shop.  
  
His eyes flicked back to the counter. Yohji was ringing up a lone group of three schoolgirls.   
  
When he turned back, the young man was a lot closer than he had been, and looking Omi up and down with a look he was pretty sure he'd prefer aimed at Yohji.   
  
Actually, maybe he'd prefer that look wasn't aimed at _anyone_ he knew. Omi's face colored.   
  
"Uh, welcome, uh...can...can I help you?" Omi squeaked.  
  
The young man proferred a hand. "Hiro." A smile was sliding up the corner of his mouth. "Are you Yohji? A girl I know..."  
  
"NO!" Omi shouted, and knocked over a vase. By that time, the fangirls had cleared out.  
  
"Oi! Watch it, kiddo!" Yohji gave him a sharp look Omi was pretty sure he thought was disguised by his sunglasses, but wasn't. Yohji peered over the rims at Hiro, the corners of his eyes crinkling in that friendly way he had that Omi secretly thought looked fake. But that was only probably because Omi knew more about Yohji than almost anyone else, other than their teammates. Or at least, he thought he did. "Sorry about that!"  
  
And that was it. Yohji offered him no help whatsoever, and did not even come over to talk to Hiro.  
  
 _Oh, boy._   
  
The young man was frowning at them both. "You're not Yohji?"   
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Omi watched Yohji's eyebrows shoot straight up.   
  
"N-no...that's him, over..."  
  
"Omi!" Who's your friend?" Yohji did come over at that point, throwing an arm over Omi's shoulder.  
  
It took Hiro a moment, but it seemed he came to peace with the deception, because he sidled closer to Omi and ignored Yohji completely. "That's okay, you know, if you're not whoever-that-guy-is. What're you doing Saturday night?"  
  
Omi swallowed heavily. "N-nothing...I mean, something, yeah, definitely something, hey, Yohji, I'm going to go get a broom, okay?"   
  
Yohji had that look that meant he was going to be made fun of something serious later, a full-on grin threatening to emerge. "Oh, don't worry about it! I'll get the broom. No thanks needed, kiddo, I think I'll owe ya."  
  
Yohji only went as far as the counter, though. He leaned next to the cash register and obviously pretended not to be listening.  
  
 _Oh, boy._  
  
"I think it's something," Hiro was still smirking at him. "9 p.m., Flashpoint?" He threw in a bar in Roppongi even Omi knew the location of. "See you then! I'll get whats-her-name to remind you if you forget." He doled Omi a wink.  
  
"But...but I..."  
  
"Actually, he is doing something already." Yohji swooped back in, magically holding a broom. He also gave Omi a wink, but his was comforting. "Sorry."  
  
Hiro frowned at Omi, then frowned at Yohji. There was a minute of silence during which Yohji even began to look uncomfortable.  
  
"Aren't you a little _old?_?" Hiro snipped finally.  
  
Yohji's look of surprise was probably completely missed by Hiro, Omi decided.   
  
"Actually, kiddo," Yohji told Omi, his voice a little colder, "How about you go find a dust pan?"  
  
"Uh...yeah." Omi fled upstairs, instead of to the supply room where Aya-chan was still hiding. He decided to wait to explain the situation to the girl after he stopped struggling not to cry, or wanting to strangle her.   
  
*****  
  
Ken was guffawing when Omi reemerged for dinnertime. He hoped that Aya/Ran had cracked a joke, because he was the only other Weiss present.  
  
Omi had a sneaking suspicion that wasn't the case.  
  
For his part, Ken did a valiant job of trying to look serious when Omi appeared in the kitchen, but there were tears in the corners of his eyes, and his face was turning bright red.   
  
"What." Omi asked flatly, deciding there was no point in putting off the inevitable.  
  
"Ken." Aya/Ran said sharply.  
  
"What?!" Ken snapped back, affronted. "I wasn't gonna-"  
  
Yohji appeared from the side door, eau de cigarette clouding after him. He paused in the entry way, obviously trying to decide if he wanted to join in or flee. His eyes rested on the back of Aya's head.  
  
Yohji pushed his sunglasses up, a frown there and gone. Omi was pretty sure he was the only one who noticed.  
  
Ken took one look at Yohji, and cracked up again.   
  
"Oops!" A solid weight suddenly hit Omi in the back, pushing him fully into the kitchen. Aya-chan stumbled after him, looking thoroughly surprised. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you!"  
  
"Aya told- I mean, sorry, Ran, Ran told me that some guy in bondage gear asked you out!" Ken grinned.  
  
Aya/Ran looked like he was trying to conjure up his katana with his eyes. "I did not say that."  
  
"Well, okay, Yohji told me about the outfit. But you did say that's why Omi left shift early." Ken snorted with his efforts to not laugh, then abandoned the attempt completely, doubling over in his chair. "A guy! A guy asked Omi out!"  
  
"Is something wrong with that?"   
  
All four male heads turned to look at Aya-chan, who was regarding Ken frostily. As frostily as Aya-chan was able.  
  
Omi stood, dazed, in the middle of the room.  
  
Ken's eyes shot up, then he looked at the others, then back at Aya-chan, then turned red. "N-no, I mean! But it's _Omi!_ " He looked for support.  
  
Yohji let out a loud laugh, then slid into a chair beside Ken. "You should have seen him! The guy looked like Farfarello. Really, kiddo, we need to teach you to have more taste with who you bring home!"  
  
Omi's eyes went wide, but the tension was broken, and for that, at least, he was grateful. Even if it was at his expense.  
  
"I did _not_ bring him home. He was looking for _you_." Omi's hands went to his hips. It absolutely did not matter that Hiro was looking for Yohji only because of him and Aya-chan.  
  
"Excuse me." Aya/Ran got up suddenly. He exited upstairs, but he'd left his tea on the table.  
  
"Anyway," Yohji continued like he hadn't given the empty chair a look like it had just killed his mother, "I rescued him. Good ol' Yohji Kudoh, to the rescue again!"  
  
Omi sat down in Aya's emptied seat, he could repay Yohji with that, at least. He thunked his head down onto crossed arms. "I'm never going to hear the end of this..." He wailed.  
  
"Well." Aya-chan clapped her hands, as if to dust all the guilt for the whole debacle off her palms. "How about I make dinner, Yohji-kun will help, and we all stop picking on Omi-kun?"  
  
Omi beamed at her.  
  
Then thunked his head down again as Ken snorted, and started laughing.  
  
*****  
  
Aya knew he had to get back on some sort of schedule. Waking up and going to sleep on Yohji's time was depleting his energy. It was only a matter of time before this lull in missions was broken, and he'd need to be at the top of his game again.  
  
He'd been more careful to go upstairs as soon as he'd finished his tea, rather than waiting downstairs or in the mission room for Yohji to go to bed. He'd kept the habit of waiting up for Yohji's returning footsteps though, which was usually around three or four a.m. It wasn't specifically his choice. He found it hard to fall asleep unless he did.  
  
Aya finally admitted to himself that it wasn't concern for the team as a whole that was driving his actions. Yohji had been looking worse lately. He'd been especially pissy to be around, and Aya had noticed bottles peeking out from under his bed on the rare occasions Yohji forgot to shut his door. Not exactly a new habit, but drinking in his room meant Yohji was spending time in his room, and that usually meant the social older man was avoiding them.  
  
No. It wasn't concern for team dynamics that kept Aya up at night.   
  
He waited for Yohji to come home to make sure the man _did_ come home.  
  
He couldn't stop himself from sneaking downstairs after him. It made him wonder if there was something wrong with him, that he was so addicted to this new game of I-spy-Yohji. He told himself that it was because if he saw how Yohji was dressed, it meant he knew where he was going. He almost would have suspected solo missions, except Omi or Manx would have told them, and Yohji was never dressed in his gear. He'd never exactly been dressed for a night out in a club, though. Not that Aya knew what that constituted, or what places Yohji was going to.  
  
He swirled the tea in his cup on the table.   
  
A long creak came from the direction of the basement stairwell.  
  
Aya nearly fell out of his chair. He used the jump to spin toward the noise.   
  
"Who's there!?" He demanded in a hissed whisper. If it was just the house creaking...  
  
For a second, Aya could have sworn he heard a couple hurried footsteps. They were too quiet for him to be sure they had even been heard, though. Aya-chan had been asleep in her room when he’d checked, so that left… "Omi? Ken, if you're playing a prank, I swear I'm going to puncture all your balls." He decided to leave whether he meant "soccer balls" ambiguous.  
  
No answer. Aya got over it and strode toward the stairs, flicked on the lights to the mission room, the kitchen, and the living room.   
  
No one was in any of them.   
  
The sound of Yohji's car returning had him up the stairs without turning off the lights again.  
  
No one was awake upstairs, either.   
  
Aya, the assassin, locked his bedroom door behind him.  
  
*****  
  
"Hey, kiddo." Yohji entered the mission room and draped an arm across Omi's shoulders, making the kid jump in his computer chair. He'd had his headphones on. It was about 11 a.m., thankfully a Saturday. The Koneko was quiet. Ken was out playing soccer with his minions, but he'd passed Aya sitting in the kitchen with a book.   
  
Aya had looked strangely exhausted that morning, although he was going about the usual routine. Yohji had observed this to include a sparse breakfast, coffee and either the newspaper or a book. He hadn't been able to discern what made the man choose one over another, but whichever it was, on weekends he'd stay in one of the main rooms reading the material of choice until the early afternoon. It was as close to social as Aya got, in Yohji's opinion. At any rate, that morning, Aya had had darker circles and lines beneath his eyes than was usual. Worrisome, since Aya looked pretty worn down as a state of being, despite his can-do attitude. Yohji paused in his thoughts to snort.   
  
He'd also ignored Yohji's presence completely when he joined him that morning. He usually managed at least a grunt. Yohji had actually felt sorry enough not to pester the man.  
  
And Aya thought he didn't care.  
  
Coming back to the present, and the mission room, he gave Omi's shoulders a squeeze. It sometimes made Yohji wonder if it ever concerned Ken or Aya that their lives were basically entrusted on a daily basis to an 19-year-old boy. Their only saving grace, in Yohji's book, was that Omi didn't really have the usual cocktail of boy hormones going on to mess with his concentration. Yohji didn't bother putting himself in Omi's place, the idea of himself at 19 running Weiss was too scary for Yohji to handle.  
  
Omi was staring up at him. "What is it, Yohji-kun?" The smallest indent of irritation was between the kid's eyes. He apparently hadn’t quite let go of the whole Hiro incident yet.  
  
Yohji smiled easily. He had a purpose, but it wasn't like he had anything else to do. He could take some time on this. "You're jumpy. What was that screen you clicked off there? Girls are interesting, aren't they?"  
  
Omi turned red, then looked horrified as he caught on. "I wasn't looking at porn!"  
  
"-I won't tell, it's perfectly health-"  
  
"Yohji!" Omi stammered, then glowered. He looked like an angry kitten. "If you're just going to bother me, Yohji-kun..."  
  
Yohji waved a hand. "Okay, okay. Just teasing. Sheesh." He fluffed the kid's hair. Omi's eyes narrowed, but he knew the kid liked it. "I was wondering about the money situation these days."  
  
Omi raised his eyebrows. "You're asking for solo missions?"  
  
"No, no. Just, have there been any? We should all be told if there have been, right? To be fair?"  
  
"Of course! They're offered to all of us equally, you know that, Yohji-kun!"  
  
"Okay, okay. Just wondering. Thanks, kiddo. Lemme know though, okay?" He tousled Omi's hair again after he received a bewildered nod. He left the kid in the mission room and headed back upstairs.  
  
Aya was gone from the kitchen. Hopefully he'd gone up to get some sleep, but he doubted it. Yohji grabbed some leftover coffee and went to make a mess out of the living room.  
  
*****  
  
"Okay." Omi breezed into Aya-chan's room through the open door and plopped down on an extra chair. She startled, then turned away from her homework to look at him with wide eyes. Omi steepled his fingers, game face on. He was very close to looking like Bombay in planning mode, but Aya-chan had never seen that face and wouldn't have known. "We have to set Yohji up again. I swore I wouldn't, because last time was a _disaster,_ but..."  
  
"...Omi, I don't think that Yohji needs our help..." Aya-chan broke in, stuttering a little.  
  
"Yes, he does. He was asking if there had been any solo missions last -" He clapped a hand over his mouth, then gave Aya-chan a horrified and apologetic expression. They weren't supposed to mention things Weiss to her unless necessary.  
  
She just looked irritated though. "So? Look. I think we were wrong. I'm sorry with what happened with Hiro and I really don't think..."  
  
"Aya-chan!" Omi exclaimed. "Didn't you hear me? Yohji is almost asking for solo missions. _Yohji._ That's...that's like..." He didn't want to say it. _He thought that that was as good as Yohji asking for a suicide mission._ The older man only took missions with damsels in distress, and never asked for them. Omi's lower lip trembled, just ever so slightly. It hardly ever worked on Aya-chan, because she was in on the younger-sibling tricks, but this time it wasn't a gimmick. "I just think we need to help him!"  
  
Aya-chan looked as if she wanted to say something else. She sighed instead, then looked down at her hands. Her fingers fidgeted with her clothing before she looked back up. "Fine. I'll help you. But you have to find a date for him this time. I'm not doing that again."  
  
Omi readily agreed.  
  
  
*****  
  
Yohji followed the trail of smoke up to the ceiling of the common room.   
  
_So Aya wasn't taking solo missions._ If he could trust what Omi had told him, if he even knew everything there was to know about Weiss. He wouldn't put it past Aya to be sneaking around, even behind Omi's back.   
  
He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something wrong with Aya. The man was looking more tired, more wan, than he had even before his sister had woken up. It was as if the littlest Fujimiya had taken her brother's life and energy to keep going. Yeah, he seemed happier. But there was a sharpness there that hadn't been there when the redhead still had something obscure to fight for.  
  
 _Or could it be you're only just now paying attention?_   
  
That wasn't true, though. Yohji had always paid attention to Aya, hadn't he? Even if it had only been since that damned fall into the ocean that he'd started noticing how he really felt. Precipitous loss, imminent death, all that - it tended to make things come into focus.   
  
Yohji let out a light snarl at himself and flung a hand over his eyes.   
  
_No more._ No more thinking about Aya. Not tonight.   
  
The Koneko the night before had been deathly silent when Yohji came home. It was also devoid of the strange presence Yohji had been sensing lately, like the feeling of eyes on him in the darkness.   
  
But all the lights had been on.   
  
They'd been off when he'd left.  
  
 _...Come on, Kudoh. This isn't related. One of the others just got up and forgot to turn them off. You moron._  
  
He'd gone out way past their bedtimes, though.  
  
He ran a hand through his hair. If it wasn't Aya he was thinking about, it was...  
  
 _...or maybe, the lights scared it off._ Yohji frowned. Was that why he hadn't sensed anything?  
  
"It" wasn't right, though. No, it was "she".  
  
And there was only one "she" Yohji could think of who would be bent on haunting him. Among all the souls he had dispatched, only one could possibly care that he kept going out at night to the coffee shop. "Their" coffee shop. Asuka's and his.  
  
Neu. Neu would care, because he had killed her, and robbed her of her chance to love.  
  
Or was he being ridiculous and overly paranoid?   
  
Maybe the others had felt the presence, too. Maybe he was being self-centered to think that he was the only one who'd noticed.  
  
...maybe that was why Aya was looking so haggard as of late?  
  
...did Aya have his own ghost?  
  
"Kudoh."   
  
Yohji started, almost jumping off the couch. He managed not to drop the still-burning cigarette. "Aya! Shit!"  
  
The redhead was standing at the foot of the couch. His lips were a thin line. "No smoking."   
  
Yohji opened his mouth to protest, but instead stabbed the butt out onto the plateful of crumbs on the table by his head. He raised his legs off the couch to make room and stretched them out in front of him in one smooth motion, recovering some of his poise in the process. He managed to summon a smirk, patting the cushions. "Join me?" He almost winced at the slight desperate note, but if Aya had heard, he didn't give it away. He shifted on his feet, and Yohji looked closer.  
  
He looked normal. Tired, and pissed off at life. Except for his right hand. That was playing with a small thread hanging off of his tee shirt.  
  
Was Aya...  
  
... _nervous?_  
  
He wished Aya would smile more. Would sometimes allow himself to be a normal guy, and stop the incessant worrying. He had suspected - no, he knew, he definitely knew - that Aya was more obsessive even than he was. He wished the other man was able to just let it be.  
  
"Yohji..." The redhead cleared his throat. "Do you..."  
  
Yohji sat up a little straighter. Lots of things began with those three words. He wasn't expecting any of the good things, but it sounded like Aya was actually about to entrust him with some precious inner thoughts.  
  
"...do you trust Omi?" Aya still looked like he had flatlined, but one corner of his mouth had downturned.  
  
"Yes." He said flatly. Every time he thought there was some justification for the way he felt, Aya just went out of the way to prove he was a bastard. "Why?"  
  
"I don't mean as Weiss." Aya hissed. His eyebrows pulled together, just marginally. "I mean..."  
  
Yohji narrowed his eyes, and stared Aya down. Fully in...fully enraptured with the other man or not, if Aya was about to say something against Omi because another boy had asked him out...  
  
"Nevermind." He stated. All emotion was gone from his face again. He turned to leave, but Yohji closed his fingers around his wrist. Aya immediately shook them off, but pivoted to face him again.  
  
"What, Aya?" Yohji examined him. "Yes, I trust Omi. I trust all of you. With my life," he added pointedly.   
  
"I think he and my sister..."  
  
Yohji's eyes widened. He bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing, with relief and because _poor Omi_ to have ever been involved in a statement with Aya-chan coming from Aya's lips.   
  
Aya narrowed his eyes again. He looked like he was about to say something, but seemingly changed his mind and turned again.   
  
He took Yohji's innards with him. _Fuck._ No wonder Aya didn't pay attention to him, Yohji hardly ever took him seriously. Or at least, it had to seem that way to the other man.  
  
"Aya." The redhead paused in the doorway, chin turned toward him. "I'll keep an eye on them both, if you'd like. But I don't think you have to worry."  
  
"Thank you." Aya sounded like he meant it. He left.  
  
Yohji flung himself back on the couch, and slapped a palm over his face, grinding it into his scrunched-up eyes.  
  
*****


	2. Chapter 2

*****  
  
The shop was dead, all the local schools had some fair or something. Ken knew because Omi and Aya-chan were at it. Ken bounced his soccer ball off the ceiling, first with his knee, then with his head. Repeat ad infinitum.  
  
Yohji was killing the plants by smoking by the window. Ken wrinkled his nose, but knew better than to pick a fight with a bored Yohji. Besides that, he looked completely exhausted, and a sleep-deprived Yohji was hell to deal with. Aya was who-knew-where, but he'd gone out on a rare daytime excursion.   
  
Speaking of Aya: "Hey, has Aya been looking kinda beat to you?" Ken caught the ball in his hands and dropped it to the floor. He began kicking it between his feet.   
  
Yohji's eyebrows raised. He pushed his sunglass up to cover his eyes better and took a drag on the cigarette, tilting his head. After a moment he replied, "That is seriously annoying, Ken-Ken. Why?"  
  
"'cause he looks like hell lately!" Ken replied, irritated. Come on, Yohji couldn't be that oblivious. The man had looked like death lately, and it wasn't like it was a secret Yohji was almost more of a mother hen than Omi. He kicked the ball back up into his hands and dropped it on his knee, bouncing it back into the air.   
  
Yohji gave a fluid shrug. "It's not missions."   
  
Ken caught the ball in the crook of his elbow and pointed the forefinger of his other hand at Yohji. "You have noticed! How the hell do you know that?"  
  
"Why do you care, Ken-Ken? You have a crush?"   
  
Ken pitched the ball at Yohji's head. The man ducked and it bounced into a flower pot on the window. It teetered for a moment, then crashed to the floor. It was perfect timing, Aya appeared in the doorway with an armful of library books just in time for a spray of dirt to land just short of his feet.   
  
"No balls in the shop!" Aya snapped predictably. "That's coming out of your paycheck, Ken, not ours."  
  
"What-!" Ken protested.   
  
Aya ignored him, and left the doorway. The redhead passed the window a second later, showing he was headed for the back entrance.  
  
Ken made faces at his retreating back. Yohji stretched, then put out his cigarette in the dirt on the floor. "Well, this has been fun, but that's not my mess. Omi should be here soon, right?" He waved lazily and exited into the apartments.  
  
"You're lucky he didn't notice you smoking!" Ken yelled after him, hoping Aya heard him. "I think you can thank me for that, you ass!" Ken shot his back the finger, then went with a sigh to collect the broom.   
  
*****  
  
"Did he catch you?" Aya-chan worried her bottom lip with her teeth.   
  
"No!" Omi gasped, horrified because Yohji had, in fact, almost caught him uploading a personal ad.   
  
For Yohji himself.  
  
Aya-chan slowed down. They were nearing the flower shop after returning from their school field trip to the Koishikawa-Korakuen gardens. The two had spent almost the entirety of the excursion hanging back from their class, discussing the candidates Omi had reeled in online.   
  
They stopped just short of the door to the flower shop, by the alleyway. Omi leaned forward to whisper, even though there was no one outside to hear them. "So, we're going with Jun, right?"  
  
Aya-chan smiled wanly and nodded. "If you think this is really..."  
  
"Yes!" Omi interrupted. "But I really can't help Yohji all by myself. You're sure you're okay with..."  
  
"It's no trouble!" Aya-chan said firmly, even though there was still a slight crease in her forhead. "Ran-kun will be happy to come out with me. Are you sure you're okay with this plan, though, Omi-kun? You'll be all alone with..."  
  
"No I won't!" Omi denied hurriedly. He'd learned his lesson. "I'm not going to be anywhere near the shop when..."  
  
The door opened suddenly. Yohji strolled outside, one hand in his pants' pocket, the other fumbling in his shirt pocket, a cigarette hanging from his lips. The sunglasses were up, never a good sign, as far as Omi was concerned.  
  
Aya-chan shot Omi a wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights look. Omi felt himself mirroring it guiltily.  
  
The older man didn't even look their way until the butt was burning away, however. When he did, he gave them a wide smile that appeared surprised. "Oi! Welcome home, kiddos. How was the field trip?"  
  
"Good!" Aya-chan squeaked. She hurried away and into the front door of the shop.   
  
Omi shot Yohji a wide smile. "It was fun, Yohji-kun!" He gave a pause for authenticity, then donned his best innocent expression. "Speaking of school...Yohji-kun, I'm really sorry about this, but there's an extra-credit assignment I want to stay after for tomorrow. I think Aya-chan and Aya-I mean, Ran-kun..." Omi paused on that, and didn't miss the slight wrinkle that also passed over Yohji's placid features. "Anyway, I think they wanted to spend some time together. Ken-kun has soccer practice tomorrow, and oh, Yohji, I really don't want to leave you alone by yourself, but it will only be for one hour, and then I promise, I'll be back..."  
  
"Tomorrow?" Yohji didn't look terribly happy. After-school was peak hours for swarms of non-paying 'customers'. Omi amped up the pathetic pout. It was a long minute, but after it, Yohji finally sighed, and blew out a long trail of smoke. "Yeah, kiddo. That's fine. But you'll owe me." He wagged a finger at Omi.  
  
Omi gave him a huge grin. "Thank you, Yohji-kun! I'll make it up to you, I promise!"  
  
 _That takes care of that._ Phase one, complete. Omi ran into the shop after Aya-chan before Yohji decided to question why Omi needed extra credit in the first place.  
  
*****  
  
Yohji fiddled with his cigarette as Omi scurried away.  
  
Both of his eyebrows were raised. Aya-chan was usually friendly with him, but she'd all but run into the shop. _That had definitely been a blush on her pretty little cheeks._ She really did look like her brother despite the brown hair and huge eyes.   
  
"And Omi's up to something," Yohji muttered aloud to the empty street. _He didn't seem too nervous, though - so he couldn't have gotten himself into any trouble._   
  
_Yet._ Yohji amended. A scheming Omi usually meant trouble for at least one of them.   
  
_Unless...unless, he wasn't scheming, and was just embarrassed._  
  
"Could Aya be right?" He sounded disbelieving, even to his own ears.  
  
"I usually am." A dark voice said from behind him.   
  
Yohji spun, blushing every bit as hard as the teenagers. "Shit, Aya." The man had come from the back of the shop, holding bulging trashbags. He dumped them and turned to face Yohji, hands hanging by his sides. Aya always looked irreparably awkward, despite him being a more-than-competent killer and usually confident. Yohji found it irreparably endearing.  
  
At the moment, a rare upturn of the mouth said the other man was actually amused. Yohji gave him a smile back, despite himself, and despite being irritated by his statement. Even if it was made in jest. "You're not right all the time." He stated, then kicked himself mentally.   
  
_That wasn't a challenge, that was a joke._ Fuck, but Aya just brought it out of him.  
  
It had wiped clean Aya's expression. Yohji's insides felt like they were twisting. _Every time they talked._ He was sabotaging himself, and it was like watching a movie of a car going around the bend of a cliff. Third person view? No guardrail around the corner.   
  
"Yohji." Yohji refocused to see Aya actually regarding him with curiosity. He didn't seem to be too affected by Yohji's statement. "Why am I right?"  
  
Yohji ground the cigarette out on the wall and tossed it deftly into the dumpster. He ran a hand through his hair and pushed his sunglasses up with it. "I was just thinking out loud. It was nothing."  
  
"I saw Aya-chan and Omi return from work." Aya was scrutinizing him. Yohji would have been basking, whether or not the look was meant to be complimentary or distrustful. As it was, he rolled a shoulder nervously.   
  
"You might be right that there's something going on. Oi, Aya, Ayan-baby," Yohji winced at himself, but Aya didn't seem to notice. He was glowering at the shop. "I'm not sure it's anything you have to worry about. I just think the kiddo's up to something. It might not even be related to us, yanno?"  
  
Aya's eyebrows went up a little when he looked back at Yohji, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him.   
  
"I'll keep watching them," Yohji offered.   
  
Aya gave a short nod, doubt on his face. "Thank you." He went back inside the shop.  
  
Yohji lit up another cigarette and pulled his sunglasses back down before following him.  
  
*****  
  
Aya was ghosting the shadows, and Yohji was in the kitchen. They were both moving through the dark, it was past midnight and everyone else were in their rooms, if not asleep. Aya had made sure to check, after the strange sounds of the night before.  
  
Aya held his breath, hovering on the stairs. He'd misjudged his pace - the other man had paused to get something from a cupboard. The door to the garage was open, a slight breeze was whistling in from outside.   
  
"Go away," Yohji hissed, after about three minutes of keeping Aya in the stairwell. The door shut with a decisive click. A moment later, the car engine hummed and faded after the sound of screeching tires.  
  
Aya's eyes widened.   
  
_Did he know?_   
  
No. Impossible.   
  
Aya went the rest of the way downstairs, but he was shaken by Yohji's words. He took a bottle of green tea from the refrigerator instead of waiting to brew a pot, and snuck back upstairs.   
  
No. He couldn't have known, Yohji would have been angrier, and most certainly would have confronted him. He would have loved to call Aya out on this spying routine, had he really known.  
  
So what the hell had Yohji meant by that, "Go away,"?  
  
Aya put the bottle of green tea on his night stand unopened, and lay down on his back on the bed. A car that could have been Yohji's streaked a beam from a pair of headlights across his ceiling before leaving him again in darkness.  
  
 _So a boy had visited the shop, looking for Yohji._ Was that where Yohji was going tonight? Had been going? Had he rescued Omi, only to take a date for himself?  
  
Did he leave so late at night because he was ashamed?  
  
It didn't fit with what Aya knew of the older man. Yohji had always flirted with both genders, and that included his own teammates.   
  
It didn't rule out the possibility of late-night dates.  
  
 _If that were the case,_ Aya turned his head to stare listlessly at his outstretched, calloused hand, bone-white against his dark blankets. _What does it matter?_  
  
*****  
  
"Ran! Let's get mochi. You still like that, right?"   
  
Aya shoved his hands in his pockets and looked sideways at his sister. She was smiling, but too tall, too old to quite match up with the memory of them going through the same motions of walking down the streets of a fair, long ago.   
  
_She's back. Awake._ The thought was laced with disbelief, echoing relief and something discordant.   
  
He gave his sister's expectant face a nod. He was rewarded with a brightening smile, laced with relief of its own. He imagined it had to be comforting for Aya-chan to know his tastes hadn't changed all that much.   
  
He was still, in some ways, the brother she remembered.   
  
Aya let his sister coax his hand back out of his pocket into her own, gripping it and tugging him along through the crowd.   
  
"But you buy," Aya-chan giggled. She picked out a mochi of her own at the booth and he complied with her request. Demand, really.   
  
_And yet, how many people would you kill to buy her all the mochi in the world?_  
  
Aya stuffed the mochi into his mouth to distract himself. The morality of his thought didn't bother him as much as thinking thoughts like that around his sister did.   
  
He watched her eat, not through a tube, but with her own two hands. He smiled at her.   
  
Aya-chan regarded him with an expression that said she knew exactly what he was thinking, and didn't approve.   
  
"So that was nice of Yohji-kun to cover the shop, wasn't it?" She ventured, the statement startling him with its change of topic.   
  
"Yes." He answered after a pause. Truthfully, he hadn't thought about it, but it had actually been nice of Yohji. Not unprecedented, but usually circumstances were more dire to force any of them to take on the shop after school hours alone.  
  
"...he seems like a good friend?" Aya-chan ventured. There was something guarded in her eyes.   
  
It made Aya nervous, and irritated. "Yohji is a..."  
  
He was about to say, 'teammate'. He stopped himself just short of the customary excuse.   
  
Did he wait up to see if Ken came back in the middle of the night, after taking a ride on his motorcycle?  
  
He realized his sister was poking him with a sharp little finger. She looked happy about something, and not knowing what she was laughing at him about made him scowl. "Stop that!" He demanded.  
  
"Yohji is a what?" Aya-chan grinned at him. "You stopped in the middle of your sentence, scatterbrain!" She made a show of peering around them at the crowd. "Cute girl? Hmm?"  
  
"Aya!" He scowled harder. He did not appreciate any reference to attraction coming from his sister.   
  
"Well, is he or isn't he a good friend?"   
  
"Yes, he's a good friend," he admitted uncomfortably. There wasn't another answer she would be satisfied with, he knew. There was no reason for it, but Aya felt the question was loaded and more volatile than it seemed. Could he really call any of them friends? They didn't choose each other. _Would any of them call him friend?_   
  
"Ran? What were you going to say?" She didn't look as satisfied with prying one answer out of him as he'd expected.  
  
"It doesn't matter, Aya. Drop it."  
  
She looked hurt and confused. "That shouldn't have been a hard question." She snapped.   
  
He muttered a guilt-ridden apology. She gave him a quick hug, then tugged him through the crowd, as if they could escape the little argument.   
  
His gut told him that whatever short-circuiting part of his brain was shooting him full of bullshit statements like that wasn't being truthful. Of course they were friends. They did things for each other than went beyond common courtesy or professionalism. They laughed together, even Aya joined in, on occasion.   
  
_Would it be more truthful to say he wished they weren't?_   
  
But that wasn't because their friendship was unwanted. It was just -  
  
He blinked in surprise when he found she'd tugged him toward a bench. Aya-chan sat him down and held out her hand for money, which he gave her. "Where -"  
  
"Not far," she said quickly, with a smile that was both tense and understanding. She sped off but kept within eyesight.   
  
Aya watched her, a smile returning to his face. She came back with two cups of flavored ice, even though they'd just had mochi. Aya found he was still interested in eating it, it was a good distraction.  
  
They were off to the side of the main path through the street fair, but people still streamed by them. He watched the tourists and native Japanese tug children along and take pictures and spend their money. He glanced sideways at his sister a few times to catch her doing the same, a slight smile on her face. The few inches between them seemed vast; she was merely people watching. He was scanning the vicinity for threats.  
  
 _...it was just that caring for his teammates meant..._ His thoughts picked up where he'd left off a moment ago, filling the companionable silence between the siblings. Aya looked at his sister.   
  
She bumped him intentionally with her elbow and grinned. He smiled back.  
  
 _...It meant just what having his sister back meant._  
  
Aya wasn't used to having so much left to lose.  
  
*****  
  
"Ken-ken! Thank god." The oldest Weiss dumped an armful of potted plants into Ken's arms before the soccer player was able to drop the ball he carried. Ken barely managed to balance what he was given. Yohji's green eyes were wide with something akin to panic.   
  
"Oi! Yohji, I can't, I just..." Yohji had already spun off to ring someone up at the crowded register. Ken carried the teetering objects and dumped them in the back room. He chucked his soccer ball at the back of Yohji's head, eliciting gasps but mostly giggles from the fawning schoolgirls.   
  
"KEN!" Yohji shot him a look that Ken thought was supposed to be wounded.   
  
The glare made Ken wince contritely. "You could have given me some warning, you ass. How long have you been here by yourself?" He donned his apron. "And you're welcome, by the way. Jerk."   
  
"Thanks for coming back, Ken-ken." Yohji sighed long-sufferingly. "Since shift started. Omi had some sort of extra credit project, and he gave me that wounded puppy look. Aya, erm, Ra-, Aya, Ran," Yohji stumbled over the name for a moment, sounding like he was making introductions instead of talking about one person. "And Aya-chan are out together at that street fair downtown." The man turned a full-watt smile at another paying customer. "Thought they could both use the break."  
  
"Well, you owe me." Ken left out the part where his practice with the kids was just finishing up anyway, so it wasn't any skin off his back. He did this sort of shit enough times he was positive Yohji did owe him something, anyway.  
  
Yohji waved a hand at him. "Yeah, yeah. Definitely."   
  
Ken moved to the front of the shop and went around picking up fallen flowers and rearranging vases. Would he admit he liked this to anyone, ever? Over his dead body, and that was probably pretty likely. But yeah. He, Ken Hidaka, liked arranging flowers. He even liked the crowds of people. It reminded him of -  
  
"Excuse me. Are you Yohji?" The voice was a young man's.  
  
The question sounded disconcertingly hopeful. Ken turned, eyebrows high on his forehead.   
  
Short blond hair, a tan face, pleasant smile, definitely male. The guy was in a soccer jersey to top it off.   
  
And he _definitely_ looked like he was the type that would only be in a flower shop to buy a present for his girlfriend.  
  
 _He looks nice._ Ken decided. _Not like a pissed off boyfriend of some girl Yohji's screwed._  
  
"Nope." He smiled back at the guy. The blonde's smile was infectious.   
  
The other's smile faltered. He turned around, scanning the shop. There was a lull in customers, Yohji was leaning with his forehead on the window, one of his unguarded, depressed expressions creeping over his face.   
  
_Man, he's been like that for fucking months. Get over it, already!_ Whatever 'it' was. Omi had thrown some half-assed, idiotic theory at him like five thousand times, but there was just no way...  
  
"That's him? There wasn't a photo, so...really?" The other young man sounded disappointed.   
  
Ken frowned. "Photo?"   
  
"Yeah...on the personal ad..." They both watched as Yohji pulled out a cigarette. "Oh no! He _smokes?_ I don't date smokers. Crap. I have to go before..."   
  
"Personal ad?" Ken interrupted.   
  
"Yeah, I found him on this online dating site I go to." The blonde suddenly blushed. "Sometimes! Just sometimes. I don't always, I mean..."   
  
_Oh, boy, he is not going to get a chance to live this down. Yohji Kudoh, self-proclaimed playboy extrordanaire, with an_ online personal ad? _Oh, he was so not gonna hear the end of this._  
  
Ken chewed on his lip to keep from laughing. Yohji was thoroughly ignoring them both. "Don't worry about it, man."  
  
The other glanced sideways at Yohji. The older man waved a hand at them. "You and your friend okay if I go outside for a break, Ken-ken?"   
  
" _My..._ " Ken's voice rose.  
  
"We're okay!" The blonde cut him off. Yohji went out the side door, and the young man let out an audible sigh of what Ken supposed was relief.  
  
 _And another blow to Yohji's ego!_ Ken could kiss whoever this was. Not that he had it out for the older assassin, but Yohji was just always _bragging_. And what sucked was that he usually seemed to have a reason to.  
  
"Oh, well." The blonde gave a small shrug. He smiled at Ken. "Nice to meet you...Ken. Guess I'll go."  
  
On impulse Ken thrust out a hand. "Well, I'm not Yohji Kudoh, but I definitely like soccer."   
  
The other looked at his hand, eyes wide. He took a firm hold on it a second later, a grin growing on his face. Ken matched it. "I'm Jun. And that's good to know."  
  
***** 


	3. Chapter 3

*****  
  
"Ready?" Aya finished the rest of his flavored ice, mostly because he knew it would make his sister happy. The treat had brought back a strong sense of nostalgia - a good thing he knew for Aya-chan, but it had made him feel lost more than anything else. His sister had been reminding him constantly that he still liked many of the things he had before the tragedy, and it lifted the comforting haze that usually surrounded his current awareness.  
  
 _...was it the sensation of waking from a dream?_  
  
"Yes." Aya-chan smiled at him and took his cup and then his hand, throwing away their trash and leading him down the street.   
  
_The sensation of realizing you were asleep the whole time you thought you were awake?_  
  
The noise of the festival crowd faded as they walked back into the more sparse, everyday bustle of the city.  
  
"Ran...do you, want me to start calling you Aya? Because, if that's...if that's what you want, I understand." Aya-chan's voice broke the companionable silence filled with the noise of cars passing, people talking, road construction.   
  
Aya's cheeks cleared of the flush they'd gained as he and his sister walked home from the festival. He forced himself to turn his head and meet her gaze, keeping his features blank. If Aya-chan noticed, there was no sign. Her eyes were clear and hard, a sure sign she'd set her mind to something.   
  
He kept his pace steady, his voice even. "What would make you say that?"  
  
"The others. Yohji, Omi, Ken - they all call you Aya. If that's....when they say it, it sounds completely different from when they call me Aya." She nodded as if to reassure herself. "Like two different people. There's no confusion in my head."   
  
Brother and sister stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to face each other.  
  
"So if it makes you uncomfortable when I..." There it was, the moisture in the corner of Aya-chan's eyes. "You can be Aya Fujimiya too. I just...I just want you to be happy. I don't want to cause you..."  
  
"No." Aya bit out the word. By the expression on his sister's face, he'd failed to keep what he was feeling out of his voice. " _No,_ Aya."  
  
Aya-chan bit her lip, and gave him a beaming smile that could rival Yohji's most insincere. "Okay, then!"   
  
She skipped ahead a few steps, and missed seeing her brother clench his fists, hang his head, stuff his hand into his pockets and straighten before trailing after her.  
  
*****  
  
"Waaah!" Omi was reaching for darts he didn't have on him as a hand came out of the shadows of the stairwell and clamped down on his bicep. He stopped himself from throwing a kick just in time. "Ken! That's _dangerous!_ What do you think you're doing?"  
  
Ken stumbled up into the kitchen, a huge grin on his face. "Omi, you're never gonna believe this."  
  
"You found buried treasure in the mission room?" That was about the only interesting thing Omi could think of Ken finding down there.   
  
Ken was no longer listening. He was scouting out the room for what Omi could only assume to be invisible ninjas. Their kitchen apparently secure, he disappeared into the storeroom, reappeared, disappeared into the living area, then finally returned.   
  
"Okay!" He announced, as if that sort of paranoia didn't warrant a cocktail of drugs. "Yohji has a _personal_ page."  
  
Omi's eyebrows drew down into a straight line. "What."  
  
"Yeah! No. He really does." Ken looked at Omi, obviously waiting for a reaction. "Come on! Like...like an online dating site!"   
  
"Umhm." Omi tried to keep the blush under wraps. "And..."  
  
"Come _on!_ It's _Yohji!_ Mr.-gods-have-to-wait-in-line-to-do-me." Ken jabbed him with an elbow, already snorting with laughter. "He's never gonna live this down!"  
  
 _Oh, boy._ If Yohji found out there was a dating site up...and more importantly, that _Omi_ was the perpetrator....  
  
"Ken. Ken! How do you know, hm?" Omi let a little bit of suggestion creep into his voice.  
  
"What?! I wasn't looking, that's for sure! Man!" Ken looked horrified. Then...embarrassed.  
  
Omi raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Okay! Okay!" Ken's eyes were wide. He held up his hands.  
  
 _Okay,_ Omi informed his other eyebrow, _Now it's your turn to play good cop._  
  
"Okay!" Ken stammered again. "So I stole one of his dates. Which! I was also gonna rub his face into, the guy wasn't eve...I mean..."  
  
"You were mocking _me_ because a boy hit on _me_!" Omi shrieked.  
  
"Not because it was a boy!" Ken yelled back. "Geez!" He ran a hand through his brown hair. "You're taking all the fun out of this."  
  
"Yeah! Because if you really did steal one of Yohji's dates, do you really think it's a good idea to let him _know_ that? Hm?"  
  
Ken chewed on his lip. "But...he has a _personal_ ad on the _internet..._ "  
  
Omi just looked at him.  
  
Ken threw his hands up in the air. "You know, I bet _Aya_ would have even laughed!" He stomped out.  
  
Omi relaxed in the empty room, letting out a small puff of air. _Yohji is gonna_ kill _me_   
  
Because he did not have an ounce of faith in Ken's ability to keep his mouth shut.   
  
_Oh, boy._  
  
*****   
  
"Whew!" Yohji entered the kitchen and stretched, fully aware of his own abs flexing. He hadn't bothered to put on a shirt, though in retrospect, he should have. Aya-chan and Aya walked through the door on cue. "Nothing like a nap to ease the aches and pains of working a long shift like that!"   
  
"Thank you!" Omi chirped on cue. The kid was doing something that smelled good over the stove. Yohji's stomach growled.   
  
Yohji's eyes passed over the Fujimiyas. Aya-chan looked...worried? Happy? Yohji couldn't quite read the girl's expression. Aya looked...  
  
 _Like hell._ Which wasn't new, either before or lately. _And also, really, really..._  
  
Yohji swallowed around a sudden constricting of his throat and thought of Neu. It effectively killed all...  
  
... _Fuck it, Kudoh, just admit it. It kills your desire. Which you feel. For someone who is one, probably straight, and two, probably feels homicidal toward you on the best of days._  
  
He shifted his eyes back to Omi. Food. Food was tasty, distracting, necessary and not Aya. "So that smells great, kiddo! You didn't hafta cook me dinner like that, but I won't say no!"  
  
Omi grinned. "That's good. Because I did cook dinner. For all of us."  
  
Yohji's eyebrows raised. That was a lot easier than he thought it would be! He threw himself into a chair and stretched out his legs, propping his hands behind his head for balance and because hope sprung eternal.   
  
By the door, Aya-chan turned to her brother. "I think I'm going to go freshen up a bit...but thank you for taking me out! I had a really good time, Ran!"  
  
 _Ran._ It still took Yohji a moment to remember she wasn't wrong, that was actually the man's name.   
  
A weird expression passed over Aya's own features. It was barely there, a slight contraction near the eyebrows, a slight grimace, but it was gone before Yohji could properly interpret it. Aya-chan leaned forward and hugged him then, though, and Aya's face relaxed into a near-smile. He put an arm around her shoulders and hugged his sister back.   
  
It was also weird for Yohji to see Aya have willing physical contact, with anyone.   
  
... _and still, it gave him just the smallest shred of hope..._   
  
He was doomed.  
  
Yohji watched Aya watch his sister go upstairs. He then watched as one by one, the muscles of Aya's pale face hardened, lips tightened, eyes darkened beneath the fall of crimson bangs.   
  
On anyone else...Yohji knew the man well enough to know, on anyone else, that emotion would have been tears.  
  
Yohji opened his mouth to ask just what the hell had happened.   
  
Aya silenced him with a glare. Omi, too - Yohji followed the swordsman's gaze over to the stove, and saw the youngest Weiss with his mouth open as well.   
  
Aya stalked out of the room and up the stairs.  
  
"Yohji."  
  
Omi's voice made him realize he'd half-risen out of his chair to follow the other man.   
  
"Maybe give them a moment?" The other's voice was tentative.  
  
Yohji sat back down with a thunk. He ran a hand through his hair and gave the teen a smile. "What? Sure, kiddo. So what's that you're cooking, anyway? Have I told you lately how you're my favorite blonde-haired assassin?"  
  
*****  
  
The moon was full, and it illuminated the roof of the koneko and apartments like a streetlamp, enabling Yohji to see Aya's coloring on the figure perched on the edge of the roof. The man was sitting with his knees bent in front of him, arms wrapped around his shins.   
  
Yohji shut the door to the roof silently behind him. He'd eaten the delicious stirfry that Omi had set in front of him, and waited long enough to take in a cigarette before deciding to find Aya.   
  
_What do you hope to get out of this, Kudoh?_ Yohji watched Aya's still figure. He was as unmoving as a gargoyle. _Other than shoved over the roof for your trouble?_  
  
But Yohji had begun realizing, he was completely unable to do anything _but_ watch Aya, care for Aya, want to make Aya happy and stop the man's suffering. It was an unforgiving ache in his chest every time he was around the swordsman.   
  
Oh, he wanted things from Aya. He wanted Aya's body, dreamt of it, wanted to taste his lips, wanted to both give and take pleasure from him.   
  
But not having those things did not stop him feeling from that feeling, like a scrape of a fingernail through his stomach, every time he saw the man in pain.  
  
 _And you're a masochistic, deluded sonovabitch, Kudoh._ Like Aya would ever let him give him anything, even if Yohji told him truthfully he didn't require anything in return. Wanted it, oh, yes, but not required.  
  
His brain supplied the name for what he was feeling, with Neu's face and the feeling of wire beneath his fingertips.   
  
"Fuck."  
  
The figure on the ledge turned its face toward Yohji immediately, a brief message of surprise on Aya's features before they sank into annoyance. "Do you know why I come up here, Kudoh?"  
  
Yohji's eyebrows raised. "No?" He ventured. He took a step toward the other man. He hadn't expected words so soon.  
  
"To be alone. Go away." Aya turned back to watching the rooftop across the alleyway.   
  
That was expected.  
  
Yohji steeled his jaw and walked toward him. He sat down with a foot of space between them and heard Aya sigh, softly.  
  
Yohji took note of the glint of a katana resting by Aya's right hand and rephrased what he was going to say in his head. "I think Ken picked someone up today."  
  
Aya didn't turn. His features had darkened into a scowl, in profile against the moonlit sky. "You came up to the roof to tell me that."  
  
Yohji smiled. It wasn't 'get the hell away or you'll be a dead Yohji Kudoh' so he was doing well. "It was a boy."  
  
A slight twitch of the eyebrows.   
  
"I found it pretty hilarious, considering all the grief he gave Omi." Yohji continued.   
  
"Did you tell Omi yet?" Aya's eyes flicked sideways.  
  
Yohji grinned. "All in due time."  
  
"Hn." Aya straightened his legs out and propped a hand against the roof, as if he were about to get up.   
  
Yohji lost his smile. "Wait."   
  
Aya looked at him. There were dark circles under his eyes, stress lines at the corners. The violet picked up the moonlight and made the other man's eyes seem like clear crystal to Yohji.   
  
"You've looked like hell lately. Ran."  
  
The swordsman looked as shocked as if Yohji had punched him. Which for Aya, constituted a slight parting of the lips, a widening of the eyes and not much else. It was gone in a moment, though.   
  
It had been a gamble on Yohji's part. He had caught something awkward between Aya and his sister earlier, and he'd have bet his left pinky it had something to do with the hesitation before Aya-chan had spoken the man's real name. Details like that couldn't be discarded; it was what made private detectives successful.   
  
Aya met Yohji's eyes. He couldn't be sure, but it was almost as if the redhead was considering something.   
  
"You should talk." Aya's stare intensified. "Are you taking solo missions, Yohji?"   
  
Yohji gave Aya a thorough look. _Thought that was gonna be my question._ "No. We're all told about them, you know that." He parroted Omi's answer to his own question that he'd asked about Aya himself. "Why the hell...?"  
  
Aya broke eye contact. "I hear you going out in the hallway."  
  
"What does this have to do with you looking like hell?" Yohji's eyes narrowed.  
  
Aya frowned. "Shouldn't all of us? We're assassins, Kudoh."   
  
Yohji glared at the side of Aya's head, where his incomprehensible brain was held. "So I go out at night. I'm a whore, Aya, I thought you'd be the first to say that."   
  
Aya frowned harder. Yohji couldn't tell if it was because he knew he was lying, or because he thought he wasn't.   
  
"What happened today to make you look so upset?" Yohji pushed, suddenly uncomfortable. "Something with..." Oh, he was too chickenshit to actually say it. _With your sister._  
  
"She asked if she should call me Aya." Aya said shortly. His right hand closed down on the sword hilt but he stayed where he was.   
  
_Oh.  
  
Fuck._  
  
Yohji wanted badly to pull the other man to him. The hand on the katana was cautionary, however. For Aya, that had to have been a sucker punch to the gut, to have his sister offer him up her own name, the one he used to kill with. Yohji imagined that it threw the other man straight against the barbed rules structuring Aya's existence. With Aya-chan, he had some tie to his past self, to an "other" self he rarely let any of Weiss see. An 'other' self anchored by his true name, that he had never voluntarily shared with Weiss. As an assassin, he had worn his sister's name like a mask, and Yohji always guessed it was just one more wall Aya put up between himself and his pain.  
  
A corner of Yohji's mouth drew up in self-depreciating, unfunny humor. _Is it possible to have a split personality fetish? Count yourself in, Kudoh. You know how to pick 'em._  
  
Yohji floundered for the right thing to say. "That was generous of her."  
  
The corners of Aya's lips twitched, the barest expression of agony.   
  
"It doesn't mean anything, Aya - Ran. Ran." Yohji repeated the name. It still felt awkward. "She's just getting adjusted." Like all of them.   
  
Aya had his head tilted, like he was actually listening. Without warning, he pushed to his feet. He was halfway to the door when he stopped. "She shouldn't have to." He disappeared down the stairwell.   
  
Yohji rubbed a hand across his face and through his hair, before slapping it on the ground. He tried to remind himself that ten minutes was like a fucking conversational marathon for the other assassin.   
  
*****   
  
"Thanks for studying with me." Aya-chan smiled at Omi, when he looked up from his computer at the sound of her voice. She was sitting on his bed with her legs crossed. He was at his desk, a proper four feet at least away from her. By Omi's calculations, distance minimized the chance of sudden-death-by-brother.   
  
Omi smiled at the girl, his eyes crinkling. "Same to you! This homework is boring, but company makes it better." He turned back to the glow of his screen, which contained mission specifications from Kritiker and not homework at all. He wondered if it would be a relief to only have worries about school and friends and depressed older brothers like Aya-chan, or if he would be bored out of his mind.   
  
He tried not to wonder what it said about him, that he secretly thought it would be the latter.  
  
"You're not working on homework, are you." Omi heard the frown in her voice before he saw it. He bit his lip guiltily and turned.  
  
She regarded him evenly, with her head tilted. Not judging, from what he saw.  
  
 _I can see why Aya dotes on her so much._ The thought made his cheeks warm.   
  
He cleared his throat hastily. "No, I'm not." It sounded defensive. "I got it all done last night."  
  
She sighed. "I wish I was as good at schoolwork as you. It must be easy for you."  
  
Omi gave her a rueful smile, and didn't contest it. "But you're lucky that's all you have to worry about."  
  
Aya-chan's eyes widened. "But it's not." Her chin set. Omi had the sinking feeling he'd said something awful. "Omi-kun, I still don't have my parents! I know you don't either, I guess I feel connected with you in some way because of that, but..." She worried at her lip for a moment. "I worry about all of you!" The words burst out of her mouth. "Every time you go! And Ran, he won't talk about it!" Her hands clenched onto his bedcovers. "And here you are. You say you're working on homework, but Omi-kun, I can see the screen! You're protecting me too, but I already know!"  
  
Omi felt sick. He had been protecting her. All of them tried to; none of them wanted to face Ran if they even attempted to include or inform her of how much of their lives were taken up by planning and carrying out missions.   
  
_...and you just called Aya 'Ran.'_ Omi realized with a start. Just like that. _Is it because you've been hanging out with Aya-chan? What would Ran do if you called him that to his face?_ The older man hadn't addressed it with them, not once. But he couldn't help remembering Ran's face when he'd walked through the door earlier that day with his sister, and Aya-chan had called him Ran. That shouldn't have been abnormal, but her brother had looked ill. He wondered again what had happened. He wasn't about to ask.  
  
"Yes, I do try to protect you." Omi admitted finally, chin setting stubbornly. He felt himself blush but managed not to look away from Aya-chan's face.  
  
She blushed right back at him, with a squaring of her own chin that mirrored his own. "I've been through a lot. I don't need protecting, at least not from knowing! I know what all of you do."  
  
Omi sighed, and averted his gaze. He watched his thumbs battle each other on his lap. He usually could find the perfect words, but somehow, with Aya's sister...  
  
"You try to protect everyone though, don't you?" Omi jerked his head up to watch Aya-chan watching him with an expression devoid of the anger she'd shown a moment before. "Not just me, but my brother, Yohji-kun and Ken-kun too?"  
  
"They're my family." Omi finally agreed. He was embarrassed that it meant that he felt the same way about Aya-chan now, but he wasn't sure why he should be. If he had helped Aya rescue her, didn't that mean she was included in some way in his life now too?  
  
Aya-chan nodded. Omi turned uncomfortably back to his computer screen.   
  
Aya-chan's voice broke the silence a few minutes later. "Is that why you're still trying to set Yohji-kun up?"  
  
"What?" Omi blinked owlishly at the change in subject.   
  
"Is my brother so..." The note of sadness in her voice made him turn immediately. She was looking at her hands. "It's obvious Yohji-kun is in love with him, isn't it? Are you so afraid Ran would hurt him? Is he that...?" Omi watched her swallow. Her voice was small, and it was if she was only talking to herself. "...different?"  
  
"Aya-chan! No!" Omi wished he was one hundred percent sure he wasn't lying. But however loyal a teammate Ran had been, was, the idea of him exhibiting any sort of tenderness with...  
  
 _...he does really care about his sister though, you've seen it,_ Omi reminded himself. The idea of the older man willing to be with anybody in _that_ way though was just...  
  
"I mean..." Omi worried his bottom lip again.   
  
"He said Yohji-kun was a good friend."   
  
Omi's eyebrows shot up.  
  
Aya-chan looked up to catch it. She gave him a very, very sad smile.   
  
"It's not just Ran, Aya-chan!" Omi protested defensively. "If you had a team you had to make sure could work together, no matter what, and their lives depended on it, would you want them to...to...to date?" He could barely say it out loud.  
  
"Isn't their happiness more important than that?" Aya-chan shot back.  
  
"No!" Omi snapped, then immediately regretted it.   
  
"You're just like him! Like you think he is! You keep trying to protect everyone, but sometimes people just need to live!" Aya-chan snapped her books shut and jumped up from the bed. "I'm so sick of all of you!" She was through the door before Omi had a chance to apologize.  
  
Omi groaned, and wondered how many minutes of life he had left before Ran appeared with his katana.  
  
 _Was she right, though? Was he just like Ran, trying always to do the right thing, rather than trusting his emotions? Was Aya-chan right? Did Ran have enough left to give to Yohji?_ Yohji himself must not think so, or he wouldn't be so afraid of confronting Ran, would he?  
  
 _I would be,_ Omi decided. _Especially with how similar to him Aya-chan seems to be._  
  
Omi swallowed and decided to forget he'd ever thought that thought.   
  
Before going back to planning the mission they'd been given for the following night, he locked his door against the red-headed assassin he lived with.  
  
*****


	4. Chapter 4

*****  
  
 _snick._  
  
The quiet noise from the hallway (or was it his door?) had Omi startling awake. He ruefully fingered the imprints from his keyboard on his forehead, even as he grabbed a spare dart from his drawer.  
  
"...Hello?" He looked down at the dart. _Who's going to break in to the Koneko? Do you really think it's anyone but your friends?_ He guessed not. More fully aware, he slid the dart quietly back into his drawer.  
  
It didn't keep him from sneaking on tiptoes across the floor of his bedroom, however, and peeking through the keyhole at an empty hallway before opening his door.  
  
The light was on under the bathroom door, but the bedroom lights were out in the rooms to either side of him.   
  
_But that noise was too quiet to have come from the bathroom!_ His brain argued. _It had sounded like someone scratching at the door!_  
  
Omi steeled his nerves and knocked on the bathroom door. The sound of water was cut off, followed by two wet slaps on the floor.   
  
The door swung open. "Had better be good, chibi." Yohji was toweling his hair dry, eyebrows drawn together above _very_ intense green eyes. He had a towel around his waist as well.  
  
"Uhm." Omi peered around him suspiciously. He didn't see anyone else with him, though. "Did you hear anyone in the hallway? A second ago?"  
  
"I was in the shower. Go to bed. I'm up, the ghosties won't get you. In your bed, not your computer!" Yohji poked a finger in the middle of Omi's forehead, outlining what he was sure was key imprints, then shoved him backward just enough to shut the door in his face.  
  
Omi put his arms on his hips and spluttered for a moment before glancing either way in the pitch-black hallway.   
  
He ran back to his room, and locked the door immediately behind him.  
  
 _Houses make noises,_ he reassured himself. _Maybe you just heard Yohji making noise in the bathroom._  
  
It had really sounded like something had been trying to open his door.  
  
 _You were asleep! You were just dreaming._  
  
Omi wasn't usually afraid of the dark, and he felt really, really stupid, but he turned on a lamp before pulling off his socks and jumping into bed, burrowing beneath his blankets.  
  
*****  
  
The kitchen was warming with early morning light, dusky yellow smattering across furniture and floor and hitting Aya's face in a way that made him squint and shift uncomfortably. He kept having to raise the paper he was reading to shield his face, because he didn't want to move and have his back to either the door, window or stairs.   
  
A giggle heralded the entrance of his sister. He looked up. Aya-chan grinned at him. "You can just move, silly!"  
  
 _Was it just him, or did she look pale?_ Aya shrugged in response to her question, and tried not to let the worry show on his face. "There's breakfast," he offered.  
  
"Oh, thank you, Ran! But I'm running late! I have to get to class!" Aya-chan smiled at him, crossed the room to plant a kiss on his forhead, and headed toward the door with her hand raised.  
  
"You're not waiting for Omi? Let me walk you." Aya pushed back his chair immediately.  
  
"Ran! I'll be fine!"   
  
"Ooh! Breakfast! Hey, Aya, I like your sister! She brings out your domestic side!" Ken breezed into the room, bouncing a soccer ball off one knee and into the crook of his elbow. Aya noted wryly that he (wisely) kept the table in between himself and Aya on his way around to look at the breakfast he'd cooked for his sister on the stove.   
  
"You can have it if you'll take it with you, and walk Aya to school." Aya stated.  
  
"Brother!" Aya-chan protested. "I'll be okay!"  
  
"...unless you want to wait for Omi, Aya-chan?" Aya raised an eyebrow at his sister.  
  
She bit her lip.  
  
Aya's face darkened. _What had Omi done, to make her avoid him?_ Teammate or not...  
  
"Deal." Ken looked like he'd caught the exchange of stormcloud expressions on the sibling's faces, and was determined to pretend he hadn't.   
  
"Thank you, Ken-kun! Ran is being silly and overprotective and I'm too late to argue with him!" She hurried outside before Aya could answer.  
  
Ken had shoveled the homemade breakfast into a plastic container, and hurried after her. "Thanks, man! I'm running late for soccer practice, too - the school's on the way, it's no problem." Ken slid through the door after his sister.  
  
Aya sat back down, and stared at the doorway, frowning.   
  
A quiet cough came from the direction of the stairs. Aya didn't remove the glare from his face when he turned to see who it was.   
  
The fact he got satisfaction from Omi's wince didn't bother him in the least. "What have you done?"  
  
"A-Aya!" Omi looked like he'd punched him, rather than asked him a quiet question. "What do you mean? Nothing!" He was clutching his pile of books to his chest protectively.   
  
Aya didn't tone down his stare. "My sister is avoiding you," He stated flatly.  
  
The younger assassin's face physically fell. His large eyes were shimmering in the sunlight.   
  
The sick little sliver of guilt Aya felt made him want to punch something. _He hurt Aya-chan,_ he reminded himself firmly. "Omi. We might be...teammates..." _Had he really been about to say 'friends?'_ "But..."  
  
"She thinks we're too overprotective!" Omi breathed out, then straightened. His chin set in that way that was far too close to Aya-chan's stubborn face. "She thinks I don't tell her enough, Aya. No! Don't worry! I'm not about to, I'd never...but..." He let out an audible sigh, then threw his books down on the table in front of Aya and sat down in the chair next to him, a pleading expression on his face.   
  
"We're?" Aya echoed.   
  
Omi nodded, and looked up to meet his eyes. "She's mad at me for not telling her about our missions. She said..." Omi cut himself off suddenly, and shifted his eyes away. He mumbled something Aya couldn't catch.  
  
"Omi..." Aya let a bit of a growl slip into the name.  
  
"...it's nothing important, Aya." Omi looked at him then, a weakly reassuring smile on his face. "That was most of it." He got up abruptly and collected his books. "Please don't be mad at me. I can't help that Aya-chan is upset with me, not unless..."  
  
Aya frowned down at the tabletop, no longer listening. _You knew you have been pushing her away by making her feel stifled._ Still, it hurt to hear it explained out loud, by a teammate. _But there's no other way._ No other way to protect her, other than keeping her apart. Excluded.  
  
"...Aya?"  
  
Aya looked back up, surprised to see Omi still in the room.   
  
"...This isn't related at all, so please don't worry! But...it's been something I've been thinking about, and...maybe you can help?" Omi was shifting from foot to foot. He'd made it as far as the doorway, but had turned back to face him. "Aya, can I ask you a question?"   
  
Aya examined his face for a long moment. The teenager met his gaze, but his eyelids were lowered ever so slightly, making him look cagey. On his guard, Aya stifled his sigh and reminded himself he had nothing better to do before opening the shop in two hours. He gave a short nod.  
  
"Have you ever had feelings for anyone who didn't know about it?" Omi's words jumbled together.  
  
"No." Aya said immediately, not even considering the question. _So there_ was _something going on between his teammate and his sister!_ Aya felt his expression go sour. _If Omi knew what was good for him..._ His fingers twitched on the table, crinkling the corners of the abandoned newspaper.  
  
Omi's mouth was firming up again, the stubborn look creeping back onto his face. It threw Aya off; by all accounts, the younger assassin should be looking positively embarrassed, contrite or at least _afraid_. "Never?" Omi asked.  
  
Aya glowered. "Never."  
  
Omi frowned right back at him, and adjusted the book bag on his shoulder. "But...even before...?"  
  
"Before doesn't matter. Weiss demands dedication, precision. We protect others, one mistake could mean an innocent's death. I've dedicated myself to the team." _As you should,_ Aya made sure to emphasize with his expression.  
  
"...um, oh." Omi's voice was small.  
  
"Why are you asking me this?" Aya demanded.   
  
"...a...a friend asked me. So I thought I'd ask someone else." Omi's smile was weak enough to bely his words. "Anyway, thanks Aya! Maybe I'll ask the others when I get back from school. Have a good day!" Omi disappeared through the door.  
  
Aya turned the conversation over in his head. _...but Omi was too smart to ask him directly, if he was after Aya-chan. Surely he was._  
  
It made his head hurt, trying to read the teen's motivations. He knew Omi too well to take him at face value.   
  
Nothing this morning made sense.  
  
*****  
  
Omi hovered by the fence that blocked off school property, hiding behind a tree like a complete loser. A few of his classmates noticed him and sniggered. He glowered at their backs before turning nervously back to watch the front doors of the school.   
  
_He had left class before her. Aya-chan has to still be inside._   
  
School had been hell. Absolute, utter, monotonous, nerve-wracking hell. He - and Kritiker - had made sure most of his classes were with Aya-chan, and usually, that was a great thing, because that meant they took the same field trips, and he had someone to talk to about class, and they could study together, and he got to spend time with her, which he really liked doing.   
  
It was nice having a friend he didn't have to pretend with, or hide most of his life from.  
  
Today, though - Omi groaned just thinking about it, and shifted anxiously on his feet.   
  
He kept sneaking glances at her, and every time, she was avoiding his eyes. And he'd wanted to apologize, _so badly_ , but it was really hard to do that when the person you wanted to apologize to wouldn't even...  
  
"...Omi?"  
  
Omi jumped. "Wha- Aya-chan!"   
  
The girl had appeared while he had been staring at the sky, rehashing every little moment of having her ignore him _the entire day._  
  
She was frowning at him, and it made her look very much like her brother. She tossed her head, getting her brown hair out of her eyes, and adjusted the books in her arms.  
  
"I was waiting for you," he blurted.   
  
"I know," Aya-chan said. She didn't sound happy about it in the least.  
  
Omi frowned miserably. He stepped away from the tree and into the sunlight.   
  
"I was looking for you. Ran will be mad if someone from the house doesn't walk me home, and I don't feel like bothering him or fighting with him again." She said it as flatly as if she were reciting a grocery list.  
  
Omi sighed, then nodded.  
  
She started down the sidewalk before he had a chance to say anything else.  
  
Omi shuffled after her.  
  
*****  
  
Yohji took a drag and observed Aya for signs of life as he intentionally blew out a long stream of smoke. The man didn't appear to be even the slightest apoplectic. It was a problem when he'd been trying for several hours on end to gain his attention.  
  
 _Maybe he forgot to install his personality chip this morning,_ He thought idly, not bothered in the least that he was thinking such a thought about a person he had a perpetual hard-on for. _Or maybe the Takatoris left some zombies milling about, and they got to Aya in his sleep._   
  
_Ooh, Kudoh. Dangerous thoughts to be thinking around Aya._ Aya had a radar, and sometimes had been known to read minds. Especially when things involving missions or his vendetta were being thought.  
  
Aya looked up, as if on cue, but his eyes weren't quite focused. Yohji immediately felt guilty, and it was novel to him. Aya was no fun to bait if he wasn't going to put up a fight. The redhead didn't even look like he was aware he was in the shop.   
  
"You in there, Ayan? It's been a slow day, but I'm sure there's chores I'm not doing," Yohji tested him cautiously.  
  
"I had a...strange conversation with Omi this morning. Is he having sex with my sister?"  
  
Yohji gagged on the smoke he'd just inhaled, and spent a minute coughing. Aya almost looked amused, the bastard.   
  
"I guess not yet. Or he wouldn't have asked..." Aya sounded like he was talking to himself. It creeped Yohji out, he had never seen Aya flaky before, not even the few times he'd seen him drugged. "Have you been watching them?" He asked directly, focusing again on Yohji.  
  
"Yeah, Aya. They've been hanging out a lot. It's really kinda cute." Yohji stubbed the butt out in a pot, but did it inconspicuously. He wasn't going to tempt fate-a la-katana that much. "But that's it, from what I can tell." _Well, Aya-chan had been upset about something last night, but he was sure the kids would work that out without Aya's help._  
  
Aya's expression had become close to the look Yohji had seen on foreigner's faces when they tried Japanese pickled plums. He looked over the rims of his glasses, chancing the clear view that would give the other man of his worn-out eyes. His face had soured without any provocation at all.   
  
_Fuck. Did he want something to be going on between them? Maybe he had a terminal illness! Maybe he wanted his sister to be taken care of, maybe that's why he'd looked so worn out..._  
  
"Yohji. Omi asked me this morning...he wanted to know if I ever had..." Aya shifted on his feet, a rare admission of discomfort.   
  
_Sex?_ Yohji's mind supplied. He'd wondered that, too. Good on Omi for having the balls to actually ask!  
  
"If I have ever had unrequited feelings for a person. I told Omi that I have never...had feelings for anyone. Ever."   
  
"..."   
  
_Aaand it's official, I'm still asleep._ Yohji paranoidly shoved his glasses back over his eyes, in case Aya was actually paying attention. "Now that's not true, I know for a fact you have feelings, just like a real human. You hugged your sister yesterday, I saw you." Shit, he hadn't meant to say that out loud.  
  
Aya sneered at him. Yohji closed his eyes briefly against it, knowing the other man wouldn't see. That expression was too close to _hers_...  
  
"I told him that Weiss demands a celibate lifestyle."   
  
"Uhm, Aya..." Yohji pushed the glasses back so he could see properly. Aya was looking out the window, off to the side. _His profile was so damned perfect..._ "Is that what you believe?"   
  
And to think he'd only been joking, when he compared Aya to a zombie-robot.  
  
"I think he has a crush on my sister."  
  
"So you lied to him." Yohji's frame relaxed, releived. _There you are again, snowball._ He kept hoping it'd survive in this particular limbo-hell he'd created by never actually breaching the question with the redhead. He could imagine all he wanted about Aya as long as he kept things to himself and never fact-checked his fantasies.  
  
He was tempted to ask Aya if he lied only about the celibacy, or if once, he had actually had feelings for another human. He let out a long sigh. _Poor kiddo, Aya's projecting his own guilt on him. And poor Aya-chan, because her first boyfriend had better be one or come with bodyguards._ The girl was 18! Not that he'd ever, but that was fair game, by his standards. She should have had at least three by now. She deserved to have some fun. "Aya. No, Ran." The man jerked his head back at the name, just as he always did. It was like a dog whistle. "Is Omi so bad? Really, no, think about it, Ayan. Ran. You trust him, you gotta because you haven't killed him yet, so yanno, he'd protect her with his life, don't you think?"  
  
"...like he did Ouka." Aya muttered.  
  
Yohji crossed the room in five strides and slammed his hands down on either side of Aya. "If you ever say that to..."  
  
Aya shoved him off and avoided eye contact. Yohji was still ready to punch him. Yohji heard the breath he let out. "I know, Kudoh. I didn't mean that." Violet eyes slid up to Yohji's. "But he's part of Weiss..."  
  
"It's a part of _us._ " Yohji spat. "And your sister's been more than just a little involved."  
  
Aya's lips tightened, but he didn't contest it.   
  
"Just because we do dark things doesn't mean we can't be happy too, Ran! We do what we do for the happiness of others, don't we? To protect ordinary people? Why does that damn us?"  
  
Aya didn't answer him. He was very still for a moment, then walked to the front and locked the door and slid down the grate. A quick glance at his watch told Yohji that Aya was on schedule like clockwork, like a machine.   
  
It infuriated the blond. It was like Aya had a ticker list of things he was supposed to do to appear functional in his head - _Protect his sister. Kill people. Keep the shop running. Eat, drink, sleep._ Yohji intercepted him in the middle of the shop, standing in the way of his return to the cash register. "It's why you don't want Aya calling you Aya or us calling you Ran, isn't it, _Ran_? But you know what..."  
  
Aya cut him off with a glare. "I don't want my sister calling me Aya because _it's not my name._ "  
  
"Then why do we still call you Aya, _Ran?_ " Yohji snapped. "You're the same fucking person. It's still the same life!"  
  
"You don't know anything, Kudoh. Get out of my way." Aya made to move around him.  
  
"Does it bother you? Hearing me call you Ran, _Ran?_ Does it bother you to hear _her_ -"  
  
"Get the hell out of my way." Aya's hands made fists at his side.  
  
"Don't you get it? We'll call you anything you want, and it sounds like Aya-chan will too. Aya or Ran, it doesn't matter and it doesn't change anything about this whole fucked up life. You're still her brother, you're still Weiss, you're still fucking human and you gotta make peace with that before it kills you!" Yohji was shouting inches away from the man's face, purposefully antagonizing him enough to become violent.  
  
 _Hit me. Hit me, Ran-Ayan._  
  
He wasn't disappointed. Yohji managed to stumble to the side just enough for it to connect with his shoulder, and not his chin.  
  
 _And that means that I'm right. He's cracking up. Aya-chan's forcing him to be human again, and he fucking can't deal._   
  
Aya was shaking in the center of the room. "Why are you..." he hissed.   
  
Yohji straightened. He snarled, cutting him off. "I loved Asuka, Ran. I _loved_ her. Even when she came back as Neu. She was the same person even if she...even if she didn't want to admit..." Yohji's fingers automatically sought out the pack of cigarettes and the lighter in his pocket. He didn't draw them out yet, but he knew he was going to need several in a moment. "She could call herself whatever she wanted, she could dye her hair and do her makeup differently, but the soul's the same, Ran, Neu and Asuka, I loved her, that same woman. It doesn't matter if you choose to be Aya or Ran, because I'm still gonna..."  
  
Aya had become pale. He was looking at Yohji's face too intently.   
  
"Fuck," Yohji muttered, aghast.   
  
_This wasn't how he'd planned it._ He felt the single solid point he'd been teetering on between despair, insanity and hope dissolve into dust and collapse like a tower in an earthquake.   
  
Aya's features were twisted, more than one emotion manifesting.   
  
"Look! Aya. I didn't mean to say that. There's gotta be a better time for this. If we can only..."  
  
"What did you just say?" Aya's voice was too quiet, Yohji almost missed the words.  
  
Yohji took a step toward him, despite the warning signs. He reached a hand toward him, but he was too far away to touch. He brought it back and ran it through his hair instead. _Too late now._ It was either he risked everything and threw it all out there, or lost any trust that remained between them.   
  
"Just hear me out." Yohji's voice tinged desperate. His eyes flew over Aya's face, Aya's body, trying to read him for some sign of how long he had before the man snapped. The redhead was tense but still, giving nothing away. "You wanna know why I care you're bordering on a split personality?" Aya's lips thinned, good - anger was better than whatever coldness he'd been radiating a moment before. "Dammit. I've been watching you. It's just - I can't help it, Aya, ever since Eszett, ever since we almost lost everything -"  
  
"Aya! Yohji! I'm back!" Omi's voice burst through the back door of the shop even before they heard it open, or shut. His tone was too forced to be real, Yohji was certain of it. He turned wide eyes to take in Omi's too-cheerful smile as the teen approached them.   
  
He was horrified to see Aya-chan appear in the doorway after him. She looked from his face, to her brother's, then back and forth between them a second time.  
  
Yohji forced his eyes to remain on Omi. Omi was watching them both right back, and the expression faltered slightly. "Need any help cleaning up?"  
  
"We were-" Yohji started tightly,  
  
"Just closing up! I saw Aya shut the grate. Why don't you go take care of the storage room? I'll help Aya fix up the front." Omi's smile turned edgier.   
  
Aya-chan continued to watch them, her expression as grim as only a Fujimiya's could be. "Omi- _kun_ , why don't you let them finish up in here on their own?"  
  
He glanced back at Aya. Aya had shifted a concerned, disconcerted look off of his sister and was now looking back at him, expression furious. "Yohji..." Aya's voice was low.  
  
Yohji swore under his breath. "Spare me, Ran-Ayan. I see it on your face. Just - forget it all. Forget it." He shot a glare that would melt iron at Omi. He stumbled backwards, managed to avoid slamming into Aya-chan by a matter of inches and hastily exited the shop toward the back door.   
  
Just in time to run into Ken, who was rounding the corner, soccer ball under his armpit. His face was sweaty, and the slight smile he'd been wearing dissipated as his eyes lighted on Yohji's. "Whoa, man, where are you..."  
  
Yohji waved him off, and made a beeline for the garage. Ken shouted for him to stop, he sped up, fumbling with his keys.  
  
 _There was no repairing this.  
  
Fuck_ Omi.  
  
And fuck...  
  
He couldn't complete the thought, even in his anger. It was too close to what he actually wanted from Aya.   
  
He brought a trembling hand up. It slid his sunglasses back into place.  
  
*****  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

*****  
  
"What just happened? What'd I miss? Yohji just left, he looked...not good guys, he really didn't look good, but crap..." Ken came into the Koneko and froze midstep.  
  
Aya-chan, the closest to him, was actually _glaring_ at Omi. Omi making anyone look at him like that, let alone Aya's sweet little sister, was enough to send off jarring alarms that were all screaming for him to get the hell out of there before the place blew up.  
  
Omi wasn't even looking at her. He was looking at Aya, and boy, did Omi look pissed off.   
  
Aya - oh fuck, Aya was looking at him.  
  
Too late, no escape, no last meal, no last words, Ken had the sinking realization he was about to turn into the scapegoat of whatever the hell had just transpired in the shop.   
  
He took a step backwards, and brought both hands up defensively, even though he hadn't done anything wrong. It caused the soccer ball to drop and go bouncing across the floor, hitting Aya-chan in the back of her legs before rolling on to Aya. Aya-chan jumped and her face was guilty when she caught sight of Ken.  
  
"Ken." To his surprise, it was Aya that spoke first. He'd actually stopped the soccer ball with his foot. "Go after Yohji. Now."  
  
"What? Why me? Why not-" Ken protested. He didn't even know where the other man would go, and this wasn't his mess. He didn't want to be anywhere near the blond, not when he was looking like...  
  
"I can't help him." Aya's voice was tightly angry. "Omi and I are going to talk. We have a mission tomorrow, we need Yohji back."  
  
Omi's voice was shrill and sudden. "You only care about him coming back because we have a _mission?_ "  
  
"Ken." Aya snapped. His eyes burned into Ken.   
  
And suddenly, Ken looked closer.  
  
That wasn't just anger there. If it was, it wasn't a type Ken had seen before, not on Aya's face.   
  
_Oh, Christ._ What the hell had happened, to cause Aya to be worried... "Look. he's already gone, but I'll look, got it? Don't do anything stupid. I don't know what just happened here, and I really don't think I want to, but...but...Christ." Ken turned and surveyed them all again. "Christ," he swore again, and went back outside.  
  
 _Aya was worried he wouldn't be back for the mission...tomorrow night._ Ken realized suddenly.  
  
Had the man been worried Yohji was gone...for good?  
  
Ken kicked the wall in frustration, breaking a brick in half. The sun was starting to set, casting the alleyway in partial shadow, orange light streaking up the side of the building and down the sidewalk like flames.  
  
He was gonna deserve one hell of an explanation when he got back.  
  
Hopefully with Yohji's sorry, melodramatic ass in tow.  
  
Ken swallowed past the sudden nervous lump in his throat.  
  
*****  
  
Inside the Koneko, Ran kicked the soccer ball at Omi's head. The youngest assassin ducked deftly, and the ball crashed through the kitchen window.  
  
"Ran!" Aya-chan choked. She ran backwards at the sudden movement and the sudden noise, and cowered into the wall.   
  
"Aya!" Omi had shouted at the same time. There was real fear in his voice.   
  
"Aya-chan, why don't you go upstairs?" Ran said, voice low. He looked at her, expression dangerous, though he obviously tried to make it soft for her.   
  
He didn't succeed.  
  
"No." Tears were starting to leak from the corner of her eyes. She turned a worried expression to Omi.  
  
 _Was this what Omi had been trying to protect her from?_ Had her brother become a monster?  
  
Omi looked back at her, expression grim. "It's okay, Aya-chan. We probably need to talk. I should tell him -"  
  
"This involves me!" Aya-chan burst out. "I'm staying. Ran, you can't blame Omi, it was both of us -"  
  
It was obvious what her brother and Yohji had been talking about. That line, what Yohji had said to him - it was so obviously a confession. Aya-chan had never heard Yohji speak like that, not to anyone. She had never heard him sound upset, or so worried. And Ran, Ran hadn't said anything to him! Nothing at all. Like he didn't even care how upset Yohji was.   
  
But she'd hoped that maybe he'd been about to. She had hoped that maybe her brother cared about him too, and just didn't know how to say it. But then Omi had...  
  
Oh, she was so mad at all of them! And Yohji...  
  
She felt completely lost. Aya-chan had never seen someone look so...so...  
  
She turned her eyes back to her brother.   
  
_Yes, she had._ She realized. She had seen someone look as...as _unhappy_ as Yohji did. Her brother frequently looked like that. She just didn't recognize it, because his face was so familiar, and she'd only been seeing what she wanted to. She had been trying so hard to pretend that nothing had changed so much that it couldn't be fixed...  
  
 _Was this what Omi had been trying to protect her from?_ Omi and Ken, though, they didn't look like that. So she couldn't blame it on what the four men did, not entirely, could she? Because Omi and Ken, they were usually so happy, so _normal_...  
  
And each of them had told her, time and time and time again, that they killed people who hurt other people, no one else. They were _heroes_. She believed that, she really did, because they were good people. She believed that too, with all her heart.  
  
She was crying harder now, despite herself.   
  
Yohji had always just tried so hard, she realized suddenly. He just always appeared so carefree, so pleasant, teasing and joking and flirting. He was always so kind to her. He was mostly kind to everyone, except when he was teasing their other housemates and her brother. But had he really been so miserable all this time? She didn't notice how unhappy he was, not until Omi had brought it to her attention the other day in the shop, before the two of them started trying to set Yohji up with boys and get him to forget his crush on her brother. Because that definitely was the problem, after what she'd heard him say when she and Omi had come into the shop a few minutes earlier.  
  
Why were her brother and Yohji different? She knew how much Ran had suffered while she'd been asleep, and she almost blamed herself for it, because she knew it was partially her fault, even though he said it wasn't. Because he'd taken her _name_...like he wished he'd been her. She wished she'd been awake to help him. She wished he would let her help him now, even though she didn't know what she could possibly do to help.  
  
She hated this. Older people were supposed to be comforting. They were supposed to know what to do. They were supposed to be the ones you got answers from, the ones who took care of you. Her parents had always known what to do, always. Ran himself had always just been supportive. It had been the same before the accident, and after, when she'd woken up from her coma, and she just hadn't _seen_...  
  
"Aya-chan, I'm sorry!" Ran took a step toward her, then another. "I'm sorry. It's okay."  
  
"Yeah," Omi echoed, forcing a smile at her despite looking like he was about to cry himself. "Don't worry."  
  
She glared at him, then at her brother. "Leave me alone!" She gasped. Aya-chan threw her books down on the floor and fled upstairs, to her room. She slammed the door behind her and locked it, then threw herself down on her bed and cried.  
  
*****  
  
In the shop, Aya turned back to Omi, rage seeping onto his face in the absence of his sister. "What did she mean, her fault too? What have you done?"  
  
Omi held up his hands, flinching. He took a step backward, so the counter was between him and Aya.  
  
 _This is a nightmare._ Aya was going to kill him, Omi was almost certain of it, and he didn't even think that anything _so bad_ had happened. Not to make Aya this angry. There wasn't even anyone home to stop him. Ken would come back and find that Aya had chopped him up and planted bits of him into the potting soil, like that serial killer he'd seen on the news the other night -  
  
 _The one they'd killed,_ Omi reminded himself, and the thought wasn't really all that comforting. He didn't have his darts on him, and was pretty sure Aya would beat him in a fight, anyway.  
  
"Aya, this doesn't really have anything to do with you, so please don't be angry. But Aya-chan and I have been trying to set Yohji up. With...with guys...that's what she meant."  
  
"With guys?" Aya echoed. "Yohji?" It tripped him up just enough to knock the ire from his face for a moment, before the swordsman refocused on Omi. "Why do you think I would care..."  
  
"I don't! Aya, that's the whole problem!" Omi scrambled to hold on to Aya's attention, because the confusion seemed to make him less angry. "What he said -"  
  
"Isn't your business." Aya growled.   
  
"But it is! Aya, if it's going to..." Omi took in a deep breath and blew it out again, attempting to keep himself from crying. "Yohji's been falling apart."  
  
"I know." The violet eyes were narrowed, but his tone was quieter.   
  
Omi stumbled on that. "Y-you know? But-" Omi took another deep breath. "Do you know it's because of you?"  
  
There was a long pause. Omi and Aya stared each other down.   
  
"That's also not my problem. He'll get over it." Aya finally snapped. "Omi. Even if that is true, why do you think it's your business?"  
  
"Because it's affecting the team, Aya, and that is my business!" Omi put his hands on his hips. "Aya-chan and I think Yohji..." His lip started trembling. "It just been really bad since Neu. We hoped if we set him up with someone..."  
  
"The boy. The one who came to the shop looking for him and hit on you."  
  
Omi nodded, swallowing past the lump in his throat.  
  
"Yohji told me Ken met a boy in the shop. Was that also you?"   
  
Omi nodded. "Please don't be mad, Aya, it just wasn't any of your business. We were just trying to help Yohji."  
  
"So you and my sister..." Aya frowned. "Have been working together..."  
  
"Please don't tell Yohji! He doesn't know, and now...now..."  
  
"You should have stayed out of this." The anger was back in Aya's voice. "We needed to talk, Omi. Whatever is going on with Yohji..." Omi watched as Aya let out a long breath. "He said something to me..."  
  
A breeze was coming in through the broken window. A shard of glass trembled and fell into the sink. Omi watched warily as Aya turned his face toward it, unblinking. After a moment, Aya turned back to Omi, visibly more collected, although still frowning heavily. "If it is because of me, Omi...that seems unlikely. If it is true, we should not have been interrupted. You should have stayed out of it."  
  
"Ken will find him," Omi said, his voice small.  
  
"Hn." Aya was frowning at the window again, as if it was alone the source of all trouble. Omi was glad the glare wasn't aimed at him any longer.  
  
"I'll pay for it," Omi offered hesitantly.  
  
Aya ignored him.   
  
Omi took the chance to bolt for the stairs.   
  
"Omi."  
  
Omi stopped immediately, gut sinking.   
  
"Don't bother my sister. But...keep an eye on her. Please. I'll be up later to talk to her. Right now..."  
  
Omi nodded. "Yes, Aya."   
  
He paused, making sure that was all Aya had left to say. When silence prevailed, he ran upstairs.  
  
*****  
  
"Whoa, man, what happened to the window?" Ken let out a low whistle, creeping into the shop. The lights were off despite the sun having gone down well over an hour prior. Ken flipped them on but stayed by the doorway, poised to make a run for it if he had to.   
  
Aya was nailing boards across the pane, kneeling on the counter. "Your soccer ball is outside," Aya replied, as if that were an answer.  
  
 _Which,_ Ken realized ruefully, _It kinda was._ Except he doubted that it was because they were having a good ol' time kicking it around the shop while he was out looking for their missing teammate.   
  
"I don't wanna know," Ken muttered, eyeing his basketcase of a teammate calmly patching up the damage.  
  
He went outside and found his soccerball a few minutes later behind the dumpster, luckily undamaged.   
  
Aya was off the counter when he came back inside, brushing off the counter, and then his clothes. He retrieved a dustpan from under the sink and began to sweep up shards of glass from the floor.   
  
"I found Yohji," Ken mentioned hesitantly.  
  
Aya's hands stilled. The fall of his red bangs covered his eyes. It made Ken edgy. Aya was acting like it - all of it - was his fault.   
  
Ken had, up until this point, been sure that if Aya did ever crack up for good, it would be the start of the apocalypse. He took in a quiet breath. "He was still in the garage. He went out for a bit, Aya. Said he'd be back later though, okay?"  
  
That hadn't been all of it. Yohji had also found himself a big old flask of whiskey, and Ken wasn't entirely sure he had meant to go anywhere at all. But after Yohji had given him that shark-smile and told him to go fuck off, he hadn't been about to stay and comfort the man, either.  
  
Aya gave a short nod, making his eartails bob, and still didn't look at Ken.   
  
Ken let out a breath. "Uh. Okay, then." He backed toward the stairs. "I don't wanna know," he muttered. "Ever." He turned and grabbed a beer from the fridge, then retreated to the mission room.  
  
*****  
  
"Go away." His sister's voice wobbled, as if she'd been sobbing.  
  
Aya drew his hand back, and stared miserably at the closed door of his sister's room. He looked down and saw Omi looking up at him. The younger assassin looked like he'd been crying, and despite his anger at Omi, it made the sliver of guilt come back. It had sounded like Omi hadn't done anything truly wrong, even though Aya would have liked very much to have blamed everything on his youngest teammate.   
  
It was easier to blame Omi than himself.   
  
Omi pushed himself to his feet. "Aya, I-"  
  
Aya gave him a short nod. "It's okay, Omi." He said.   
  
Omi looked contrite. "I heard Ken come back -"  
  
"Yohji is okay. Ken said he was in the garage," Aya explained tersely.  
  
Omi's voice came out as a whisper. "I really didn't do anything to Aya-chan, Aya. Please, please believe me...!"  
  
Aya winced, and looked away from Omi. "I know. Go away."  
  
"She's just had a lot to deal with, Aya!"  
  
"I _know_ , Omi, leave us alone!" Aya knocked on the door again, still looking away from Omi.  
  
Omi hesitated, then started down the hallway. Aya glanced after him to see Omi throw a concerned glance over his shoulder, then disappear onto the stairwell. It looked like he was headed up to the roof.  
  
Aya stored that away for later.   
  
He knocked again on the door. "Aya-chan! Open up!"  
  
The door swung open and his fist fell through thin air. His sister's eyes were bloodshot.  
  
"Aya-chan. I'm sorry." He whispered it to his sister.  
  
She stared back at him, looking him up and down.   
  
"I'm sorry," Aya repeated.   
  
Aya-chan threw herself forward, into his arms. Startled, she had to hug him for a moment before he realized to move his own arms from his sides, and hug her back.  
  
*****


	6. Chapter 6

*****  
  
Omi had made a mess of everything.  
  
He hugged his bare knees to his chest, still wearing the short overalls he'd worn to school earlier that day. A cool breeze swept over the roof, and looking up at the sky, he noticed that it brought clouds sneaking over the city with it. It would rain before the night was over - how appropriate.  
  
Aya-chan was mad at him. He wasn't even certain he deserved that. He only didn't tell her about the missions because other people didn't want him to. Kritiker wanted him to limit the information shared with her, and so did Aya-Ran.   
  
_I guess you'd better start calling him Ran,_ He noted dully. That was what Aya-chan was used to, because that was her brother's real name, and he wanted to do everything he could to make her happy again. He was positive _Ran_ did, too.  
  
He supposed that she also had to be mad at him because of what he'd revealed about his opinion about her brother. It didn't quite make sense to him, because she had to know Ran better than any of them, right?   
  
_But she'd seemed so...lost._ She had asked him if her brother was so different. Like maybe once, he was a person that would have liked another boy back. Another boy like Yohji.  
  
He felt like an idiot, and a jerk. It hadn't really occurred to Omi that Aya...Ran, that Ran could have undergone a complete personality change since joining Weiss.   
  
Because Omi hadn't. Omi couldn't remember when he was very little, of course, but he had always been who he was.  
  
 _And you've always been in something like Weiss._ He'd always been an assassin, or an assassin-in-training. Unlike the rest of them.  
  
Omi hugged himself harder, and rested his chin on his knees.  
  
He hoped Ken found Yohji, and brought him back. He hoped he hadn't caused anything irreparable. Because he'd never, ever expected Ran to tell him that he would have actually talked to Yohji about his problems.  
  
He supposed that made him a worse person than any of them, for expecting so little of his friends.  
  
There was a sudden noise behind him. "Omi-kun?"  
  
He whirled, just as the door fell back into place with a _snick_. Aya-chan stood across the roof from him, her clothes and hair blowing a little in the wind. She walked toward him and sat down by his side before he had a chance to recover from his surprise or to get up.  
  
"A-Aya-chan?" Omi swallowed heavily. "H-how?"  
  
"Ran told me he saw you come up here," she explained. She looked seriously at him, her brown eyes meeting his.   
  
Omi looked away. "Why would he tell you that?" He didn't want her there. He wanted to be by himself.   
  
"Maybe because he's worried about you, Omi-kun." Her hand rested lightly on his arm.   
  
He looked back at her, surprised. He hadn't thought Ran would care at all about him. He had made Yohji run away, and Ran so mad that he'd kicked Ken's soccer ball at him, and he'd made Aya-chan not speak to him for a whole day, and then cry. Although, the crying might have been Ran's fault as much as his, really.  
  
She gave him a very small smile. "He's not so bad. He just doesn't know how to show he cares."  
  
Omi's lower lip trembled. "Maybe I'm the bad one then!" He looked over the building, to the roof of the neighboring business. Nothing interesting happened on it, but it was better than looking at Aya-chan's concerned face. He didn't deserve it.  
  
"Oh, Omi-kun." Aya-chan's voice was quiet. "If that was true, you wouldn't have cared about Yohji at all, would you? And you wouldn't care that you made Ran mad at you. I think you care so much about everyone that you don't want them to get hurt at all. You're afraid that if you leave it up to them, they'll hurt each other." She sighed audibly. Omi looked back at her. She had followed his gaze to the other roof. The moonlight was hazy through the gathering clouds, but it illuminated the lines of her profile perfectly. "That's just like my brother," she said softly. "He's so afraid. He's so afraid that I'll get hurt again. But I have so much..." her voice wavered. "I understand how he feels, but Omi-kun, I have so many things I haven't done! And I feel sometimes like I won't get to do anything other people get to do, because he's so protective of me!"  
  
She turned and met his eyes again. Omi looked back at her earnestly. "Sometimes I have to get hurt, Omi-kun. That's what people do. People make mistakes, so they can grow from them! I really believe that. Otherwise...otherwise it's just like I'm still in a coma." Tears manifested suddenly on her cheeks. "Like maybe I shouldn't have woken up at all, so he wouldn't have to worry so much."  
  
"Oh, Aya-chan!" Omi gasped. He threw his arms around her, because there wasn't anything at all he could think of to say to that. "Aya-chan, he was..."   
  
Omi swallowed. He didn't want to say anything to make her think any worse of him, or of her brother, but what she'd said was so _terrible_... "Aya-chan, he's becoming better because of you. Because you woke up."  
  
Aya-chan looked up at his face, her own tear-streaked. After a moment, she nodded. "He's said that, too," she said softly. She pressed closer against him.   
  
She looked up. Omi looked back at her.   
  
Suddenly, her lips were on his. Omi gasped into her mouth. She pressed more firmly, one of her hands on his neck.   
  
He kissed her back. They kept their eyes open, watching each other.  
  
When they broke apart, Omi was blushing furiously, and so was she.   
  
Aya-chan placed her hands in front of her on her knees. "Omi-kun, I'm sorry! Please be okay with that!" She wasn't quite meeting his eyes.  
  
"Ran's gonna kill me!" Omi cried.  
  
Aya-chan looked up, and smiled suddenly. "Is that all?"  
  
"Is that all?!" Omi gasped. He had already almost been killed by her brother once that day, this was all but ordering his gravestone. "Aya-chan, this is awful, I know you think your brother is a good person, and, and I guess he is, but he's going to take his katana and..."  
  
"Omi-kun...Ran said it was okay."  
  
"What?" Omi gasped. He couldn't have heard her right. She might as well have said, 'Aliens just landed on the other roof, look and see.' He would have believed _that_ more than Ran being okay with Aya-chan kissing _anyone_ , let alone _Omi._  
  
"Omi...he was so mad earlier because he thought we were already dating. Did you know that? He said he was relieved to know that it was just because we were plotting to set poor Yohji-kun up with someone. And..." Her face was turning redder, and even though there were still tears on the ends of her lashes, she was smiling bashfully. "Oh, please don't be mad at me."  
  
"I-I'm not mad at you, Aya-chan..."  
  
"Good!" Aya-chan moved closer to him, and put a hand on his knee. "And I told him that I did like you, Omi-kun. I-I like you! I've liked you for a really long time. But I didn't think...I'm sorry, I guess I shouldn't have kissed you like that..."   
  
"W-what did he say?" Omi swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry.   
  
"He said okay."   
  
"That's it?" Omi gasped.  
  
Aya-chan nodded, then added, "And that you were on the roof."  
  
Omi sat back down - he had been crouching, half-preparing to flee the entire country - and stared at her, stunned.   
  
"Omi-kun?" Omi looked at her. Aya-chan was frowning, a little crease of worry appearing between her eyebrows.   
  
Omi gave her a small smile. "I guess I don't really know Ran all that well, Aya-chan. I'm sorry."  
  
She gave him a small, worried smile. "It seems he's a little different from...from Aya."   
  
He nodded. "But...they're still the same person."  
  
She nodded back at him.   
  
They were quiet. Omi cleared his throat after a few minutes had passed. "Aya-chan?"  
  
Aya-chan looked at him. She'd caught her bottom lip in her teeth, she looked worried and adorable.  
  
Omi cleared his throat again. "I think I like you, too." He glanced at her sideways. "I mean, I definitely like you! But, I like you, as, as more than a friend..."  
  
A small smile blossomed on her face.   
  
Omi sat up straighter, encouraged. He took a deep breath, and hoped she'd told the truth about Ran. "Would-would it be okay to try that kiss again?"  
  
Her expression immediately lightened. "I was hoping you'd ask."  
  
*****  
  
Finished talking with his sister, Aya watched Aya-chan make her way to the door to the roof. He forced himself to give her a small smile.  
  
 _Yohji was right,_ he reassured himself. _You trust Omi. He'll look after her, when you can't._   
  
She disappeared up the stairwell. He leaned back against the wall and hit the back of his head against it.   
  
Aya still wasn't happy about it, but all he could ask was that she told him about her life. If it was really something she wanted, if she really felt that way about Omi already, there was absolutely nothing he could do. If he forbade it - and he wanted to - she would just go behind his back. He would lose her trust.  
  
 _Be happy she asked you first. Be happy they weren't already sneaking behind your back._  
  
Aya went back downstairs. The shards of glass were cleaned up and the dustpan was put away under the sink, but the window in the kitchen was, of course, still shattered, the boards still nailed across it from where he'd kicked the soccer ball at Omi's head.   
  
The lights were still on because he'd left them on for Yohji. There was still no sign of him.  
  
Aya stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and stared at the door.  
  
 _He couldn't believe they'd been setting Yohji up on blind dates without the man knowing about it. As if Yohji, of all people, needed help getting laid._  
  
And it was because they'd wanted to distract Yohji. That was what it had sounded like.  
  
Distract Yohji...  
  
 _"Ever since we almost lost everything..."_ Yohji's voice had been so desperate. His face had been so desperate. He had been so...certain, that what he was saying was falling on deaf ears. He had left without letting Aya even respond.  
  
 _And what would you have said?_ If only Omi had not interrupted them, Aya would have been able to handle Yohji. The look on Yohji's face as he left, it was one he had seen before. Right before he'd killed Neu.   
  
It would have alarmed him more the first time he'd seen it, if he had cared about anything, back then, but revenge.   
  
He wasn't happy to see it again.  
  
...Omi and his sister. They both thought he was incapable of returning Yohji's...  
  
 _Yohji had been comparing him to Neu. To Asuka._  
  
Aya realized his breathing had turned shallow. He went to the table and sat down in a chair, hands spread before him. He stared at the callouses on his palms.   
  
The door opened suddenly, and a whiff of alcohol preceded Yohji's stumbling entrance.  
  
It was the first time in months, Aya realized, that Yohji had come home trashed.  
  
It was the only time Aya hadn't attempted to hide himself.   
  
He wished suddenly that he had. He didn't want to talk to Yohji. He didn't want Yohji to confront him about anything he wasn't ready to deal with, and he was positive that would be anything Yohji had to say to him.  
  
Yohji's features twisted when he caught sight of Aya. Aya stared back, keeping his features as neutral as possible.   
  
_You misheard him,_ he decided suddenly.   
  
"Oi! Ayan. Ran-Ayan. Baby. My ghost keeping you company? She's a bitch, isn't she?" He grinned at Aya. "Don't look like that. She's only after me, yanno. You probably scared her off, too much competition for ol' Yohji."   
  
"Kudoh." Aya swallowed. Yohji had a wet stain and a lipstick smear across the white undershirt he wore beneath his jacket, and his sunglasses were ever so slightly crooked. "What the hell-"  
  
"Not in the mood, Ayan, not in the mood. Hey, do you have any ghosts, or is it just me?" Yohji crossed the room and leaned for a moment on the back of a chair, sunglasses blacking out his eyes. "Maybe Ran haunts you, huh?" He snickered. He straightened, and swayed. A finger found the waistline of his jeans and pulled it down, revealing the tanned, toned ridge where abdomen met leg. Yohji seemed completely unaware; Aya, despite being sickened by how drunk the man was, found his eyes drawn to his skin.   
  
"You need to go to bed." Aya stated, and pushed back his chair.   
  
"I'll go if you come," Yohji said. Then laughed uproariously. "Hey! That's like a pun. I like it."  
  
Aya took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. He took a step toward Yohji, prepared to take him upstairs in a fireman's carry if necessary.  
  
Yohji promptly vomited on him, and keeled over on the floor, out cold.   
  
*****   
  
The pale skin beneath Aya's uncommonly pretty violet eyes was marred with dark circles. It was beyond piquing Yohji's curiosity at this point. He was nearly downright obsessed with finding out the cause.  
  
The problem was that these days, he was feeling pretty shitty himself. Especially with the gawdawful hangover he'd woken up with around noontime.  
  
 _And today, you know the damned fucking cause, Kudoh._ Aya had been glaring at him all through shift, but had yet to actually say anything. _It's because you spilled your guts to him, and he's trying not to kill you for it._   
  
He took one last drag on his cigarette, and stubbed it out in the sink next to the three other butts by the drain. They'd been partly to calm his nerves, and partially to get a rise out of Aya. He was determined to return their dynamic to normal, at the very least. He would annoy the shit out of him until Aya was back to harassing him to stub out his cigarettes and do his chores. Those small interactions, however awful they usual were, at least meant Aya was still paying some attention to him. It meant they were still teammates.  
  
But Aya hadn't even wanted to say even a "put it out, Kudoh" to him. He seemed content to just sit there and will Yohji's brains to fry up.  
  
Omi was a different story. The kid had his hands on his hips and his mouth open. He looked like an angry chicken.  
  
Yohji let out a sigh. He needed to deflect that lecture, and fast. "Boys," he began, "I'm not sure how to break this to you, but the Koneko is haunted."  
  
"This is a mission meeting, Kudoh." Aya finally stated angrily.  
  
Yohji waved a hand in his general direction. "I just thought everyone should know, Aya. I want to bring in an exorcist..."  
  
A snort of laughter that sounded more pained than amused actually came from Aya himself. Omi, Ken and Yohji all turned amazed eyes toward him.  
  
"No...Aya, I don't think he's joking." Omi sounded incredibly nervous, for some reason. His eyes shifted up to meet Yohji's. "I heard something in the hall the other night, and Yohji was the only one up. He said that he'd been in the shower, so he couldn't..."  
  
"Oh, chibi. Sorry." Yohji smiled apologetically at the younger assassin. He glanced at Aya, whose face was twisted into a weird cross of pain and amusement, although the expression, like all the man's expressions, was barely there. Yohji decided to ignore him. He was done spying on the kids for him. "That was me. I was checking in on you and Aya-chan."  
  
"You were _spying_ on us?!" Omi squeaked.  
  
Ken let out a snort of laughter.  
  
Yohji glanced back at Aya. The man acknowledged him enough to give him a small nod. "Aya had asked me to."  
  
Omi's eyes shifted nervously sideways. He and Aya stared at each other evenly for a moment.   
  
Ken laughed again. "Oh man, Aya, you thought that Omi was after -"  
  
"We're dating, Ken-kun." Omi stated flatly.   
  
Ken choked.  
  
Yohji's eyebrows shot up to his forehead. It aggravated his headache, he suppressed a wince. He looked sideways. Aya hadn't reacted. He wondered briefly if that had something to do with the broken window he'd discovered upon waking up.   
  
"So. That's completely different, Omi-kun. But, the Koneko's still haunted, so is everyone okay with -" Yohji started again.  
  
"What makes you think the Koneko is haunted, Yohji-kun?" Omi's voice was completely skeptical now. He glared at Yohji.   
  
_Great. So Ken was the only one not pissed at him now._ "Because I come back late at night, chibi, and I've felt eyes on me. I've heard breathing! Lights have been on when they should have been off. And anyway, I know who it is, so..."   
  
Ken was eyeing him like he'd decided Yohji was officially gone.   
  
Aya was avoiding his eyes.   
  
Omi was staring hard.   
  
At Aya.  
  
Silence reigned.   
  
Omi was the first to break it with a slight cough. "Aya-kun, I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous."  
  
Aya's head snapped up, eyes wide and trained on Omi. Yohji watched, fascinated.   
  
"I've heard noises too," Aya replied.  
  
"I'm sure you have!" Omi looked positively exasperated. "Aya-kun, you aren't the only one who's been spying. Aya-chan told me that she gets up at night when she can't sleep. She said she's seen you-"  
  
Aya looked appalled. Nevertheless, his voice barked, "Stop."  
  
"No, Aya! He wants to bring in an exorcist. To the Koneko. This is ridiculous. Kritiker will think we've gone nuts and then we'll all be in trouble!" Omi was frowning heavily.   
  
Ken was watching them all with wide eyes.  
  
Yohji turned away from Ken and Omi and stared hard at Aya.   
  
"Aya," Omi warned, "If you don't tell him I'm going to."  
  
"You threw up on me last night." Aya stated flatly, finally meeting his eyes. "I dragged your ass into bed and cleaned up after you."  
  
"You -" Yohji spluttered for a moment. He wracked his brain for some memory to back that up, but whatever he'd done last night was completely gone. "Uh, thanks. Sorry. But that still doesn't explain shit about what Omi's talking about."  
  
"I've been watching you, Yohji. Not ghosts. You go out, I make sure you come back, I go to bed. You're a teammate. Someone needs to do it and I'm the only one who's up when you go out." Aya's mouth was a thin tight line. "This is pointless. We have a mission to go to. Omi, explain what we have to do so we don't miss our targets."  
  
Yohji closed his eyes for a moment, when he opened them again Aya was staring at Omi, Omi was doing his best to explain what they had to do that night to assassinate people, and Ken was alternating a gaze of dawning awareness between himself and Aya.  
  
"Oh, shit." Ken said. "Omi, you were..."  
  
"Say one word, Ken-kun, and I will tell Yohji-kun about your new friend." Omi continued his explanation of the mission without pause.   
  
Yohji sat down with a thunk on the couch, and tuned Omi out.   
  
_Aya. Aya had been the ghost all along._   
  
Now why did that seem fucking appropriate?  
  
*****  
  
The nighttime air smelled great, Yohji realized. Someone had cut their grass recently, in the residences beside the warehouse they were staking out.   
  
Their targets hadn't shown up yet. They were waiting for a van, so it wasn't likely they'd sneak up on them, either.   
  
In the silence, Yohji couldn't turn off the endless stream of sentences replaying in his head. The acid from his thoughts was trickling down his brainstem and percolating in his stomach.   
  
It alarmed him how close to insanity he'd sounded, now that he looked back on it.   
  
_Aya had been haunting the Koneko at night._ Not Neu. Not Asuka. Not some other pissed off dead soul.   
  
Yohji had been leaving the man well enough alone, he'd thought, except on those days that Aya looked shitty enough to actually do something unfortunate about it. And now he found out that Aya had been watching him? That was creepy as hell, and really unfair. Had the man followed him to the coffee house too? Did he watch Yohji on dates? He would have relished knowing that Aya was obsessing about him before, except he couldn't get Aya's look of absolute rage out of his mind after he'd confessed his feelings by a slip of his fickle tongue.  
  
The targets still weren't present. He flicked the comm switch, Ken gave him a look backwards from where he was posted by the corner of the building. "How long, Aya? How long have you been spying on me? And what the hell gives you the right?"  
  
There was a pause, then Aya's flat monotone crackled back. "I told you the other night I noticed you looked like hell. It's our job to make sure this team stays intact. That's it, Yohji."  
  
"Bullshit." Yohji swore. Ken was making shushing motions, but Yohji pressed on. He hadn't heard any van, so Ken was just being a jackass. "That's bullshit, Aya."  
  
"Yohji." Omi's voice, hushed and alarmed, cut him off. "Not now!"  
  
"You keep telling us your life is none of our business, Aya, and then you go and spy on me? No, not just me, on Omi, too, and your sister. What, are you spying on Ken's dates, too?"  
  
Ken spluttered a quiet, "You know...?"  
  
Omi inserted another desperate plea for them to shut up.  
  
"You let me think the place was haunted! You had to have heard me talking to absolutely nothing. Were you having a laugh, Aya, huh? Because it wasn't fucking funny to me, yanno." Yohji sneered into the microphone. "Pretending to be a ghost all that time. Do you know who I thought of, all those nights? Why I was going out in the first goddamned place?"  
  
"...maybe I wasn't pretending, Yohji." The feed abruptly clicked off.  
  
"Fuck." Yohji swore.  
  
"Yohji, he took off his microphone," Omi's voice was bordering shrill. "Are you happy?"  
  
Suddenly, Yohji was thrown backwards into the wall, his head hitting the concrete building painfully. Dazed, he looked down to notice Ken had an arm across his windpipe.   
  
"Aya needs your mess like he needs a hole in the head, Yohji." Ken's features were tight. "Get it together. You'll get over this. He won't."  
  
Yohji smiled, baring his teeth. _Funny. I need Aya like a hole in the head. One or the other, I'll be all set._ "Since when did you decide to join the party, Ken-ken?"  
  
"Didn't you even wonder why you got stood up the other day? Why Jun never showed? That was that guy in the shop, the one you thought was my friend. Omi told me you had...had a thing for Aya, and I thought he was off his rocker, because why the hell would you have a personal ad up on the internet otherwise? Huh? Answer me that. Don't go bullshitting around with Aya, he doesn't need it." Ken shoved him into the wall again and let go, backing off a couple steps.  
  
Yohji scrambled after the string of Ken's thoughts. He took a step toward Ken, prepared to shake some sense into him. Yohji Kudoh, with a personal ad? Like hell. "What the-"   
  
"Uh." Omi's voice coughed over the earpieces. "Actually, Ken-kun...that was me. I put that ad up there. We were just trying to help Yohji! Yohji, don't be mad, please, I'll explain after the mission!"  
  
Yohji narrowed his eyes at Ken, because Omi wasn't present. "You'd fucking better, chibi."  
  
Ken glared back at him. "That makes no sense. But whatever. I still mean it, Yohji, you better watch yourself if you're just dicking around."  
  
"I think you'd better mind your own fucking business, Ken-ken. Aya can damned well take care of himself."  
  
"Guys!" Omi suddenly hissed. "They're here. Please, please focus! And remember, codenames!"   
  
Yohji rolled his eyes and prepared a length of wire as the van rolled past them, into the open doorway of the warehouse. He and Ken snuck in after it as the door lowered, just in time to see Aya's shadow jump down from a support beam and Omi signal to them from the control room. He'd taken out the targets that had been stationed there when Weiss had arrived.  
  
Yohji almost felt sorry for their victims. He needed to take his anger out on someone, and Kritiker-approved targets were a hell of a lot better than teammates.  
  
*****


	7. Chapter 7

*****  
  
"That was unprofessional, Kudoh." Aya followed Yohji upstairs, his steps hitting the floor heavily.  
  
"Oh, don't start." Yohji's wrist and hand sported wet streaks of blood, but he ran his fingers through his hair anyway. "The 'dark beasts' weren't there yet."  
  
"We could have been taken by surprise!" Aya was one wrong word away from grabbing Yohji's heels and flinging him back down the stairs.  
  
"I wasn't the one who took my mic off, Ayan. Rules are rules, we have to stay in contact with the group." Yohji's voice took on a timbre mocking Omi's.  
  
"Guys!" Omi's voice trailed up after them. "Please, Aya-chan is still upstairs!"  
  
They could both see that. Aya's sister was in the hallway, apparently waiting to greet them. Her mood visibly changed from relieved to anxious.  
  
"All of us are fine, Aya. Omi's downstairs. Kudoh and I have to talk, I'll clean up and come back to see you after that. Okay?" Aya said.  
  
Yohji took off down the hallway, into his room.  
  
"No." Aya-chan said. "No, it's not okay. Why are you yelling at him?"  
  
"It has to do with the mission." Aya stated.  
  
"I don't believe you!" Aya-chan frowned at him. She put her hands on her hips. She was in her nightgown and had obviously gotten up only to see them home.  
  
"It's not your business," Aya replied, frowning. He wanted to get out of the hallway, away from her inspection of his face and his mission clothes and the katana he still held. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't get up on mission nights."  
  
"I heard you yelling." She frowned harder. "And...and I was worried. And, 'not my business?' Like Omi and I aren't your business, Ran?"  
  
It took any reply he had away for a minute. "What makes you..."  
  
"It's not a secret! I was helping Omi set Yohji-kun up all this time, did you know that? Everyone here knows he likes you, and I don't believe for a minute that you don't. I heard what he said to you in the shop." Her voice lowered, obviously considering the proximity of Yohji's room. "I'm not stupid! I've seen you watching him when I get up at night for a drink!"  
  
"Aya-chan...I'm not..." Aya worked his mouth, trying not to let it set into an expression too dire for his sister.  
  
"You talk to him, Ran! Sometimes more than me. Remember when I got jealous that one summer? You were hanging out so much with that other boy, and you cried when his family moved. I remember how you looked then, like your heart was breaking, so don't you dare tell me you can't like him back."  
  
That wasn't what he'd been about to say, but the sudden memories being flung at him thre him off-balance. "Aya. Leave it be."  
  
The frown on her face lessened, but the look that replaced it was worse. It was worry, and sadness.  
  
The siblings faced off. After a long moment, Aya-chan walked toward him and made to put her arms around his shoulders.  
  
"Don't touch me," Aya said, alarmed. He took a step away from her.  
  
She looked like she'd been slapped.  
  
"Not...Aya, not until I've changed clothes." Aya was already doing his best to keep his katana pressed close to his leg, out of her sight.  
  
The hurt on her face lessened. She gave him a small, resolute nod. "I, I just don't want you to hurt each other," she whispered. "I love you."  
  
She turned and ran downstairs. He heard Omi give a small happy exclamation.  
  
Omi didn't have to worry about blood on his hands or his clothes. His weapons were long-range.  
  
Aya would have liked to punch the wall, but didn't feel like cleaning it or leaving the bloodstain for Aya-chan to see.  
  
Aya marched to Yohji's room and flung open the door without knocking. Yohji spun toward him, in the act of taking off his shirt. His coat was already in a heap on the floor. He finished pulling it over his head and levelled Ran with a steady stare as his right hand lowered, brushing his own chest and finally hooking a thumb in the waist of his mission pants.  
  
"You've involved _everyone_ ," Aya growled.  
  
"I think that was you," Yohji replied lightly, his eyes wary. "You've spied on everyone here except Ken, yanno."  
  
Aya brought his katana up level with Yohji's chest. "You've been falling apart, Yohji. If you don't want to be in Weiss, you shouldn't be. You're becoming a threat to this team."  
  
Yohji laughed. "You're going to kill me, Aya? Why? Do you hate me that much?" He immediately lost all trace of humor. "I'm not going to fight you, so you're going to win this, you know. Do it, then. If you're going to dispatch me for Kritiker, I'd rather it be you, Ran-Ayan." He spread his arms and kept his eyes on Aya's.  
  
"Why don't you just leave? Start over. Stop all of this..." Aya felt his features contort.  
  
"Just do it!" Yohji snapped. With his fake humor gone, something hard was left in its place.  
  
Aya brought his katana down in a swift arc. It halted one inch from Yohji's neck.  
  
With a hiss, he removed it.  
  
Yohji let out an audible breath. Within the same moment, his wire was wrapped around Aya's blade. "What did you mean, when you said maybe you weren't pretending? To be a ghost? Is that what you meant?"  
  
Aya snarled at him. "You weren't even going to defend yourself against me. Now you want to talk?"  
  
Yohji took a step toward him. Aya tried to bring the katana back up, but Yohji tugged on its new leash. "Nuh-uh. I'll win if we fight now, baby."  
  
"Why is that?" Aya narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Because between the two of us, I'm the only one who wants to live." Yohji took a step closer. His eyes raked over Aya's face. "How did I miss that?"  
  
"You were willing enough to die a moment ago." Aya snapped. He tugged again on his sword, but Yohji had it thoroughly lassoed. "What changed, Kudoh?"  
  
Yohji's hand reached out and brushed an eartail away from Aya's cheek. "You didn't kill me."  
  
Aya yanked his sword free and zigzagged it to slam the hilt into Yohji's stomach. He doubled over. Aya's fist clenched as he stood still for a moment, working his mouth around words he couldn't find. Yohji didn't see, he was gasping for breath.  
  
Finally Yohji looked up at him, green eyes both hurt and determined. "Ran..."  
  
Aya left. He slammed the door behind him.  
  
*****  
  
Yohji found him on the roof. It was the first place he checked, and a good thing, because his abs hurt like a sunovabitch from where Aya had struck him. The blow had come from nowhere; he'd thought their little spat was over. It was Aya though - he should have expected it.  
  
_He's a depressed, fucked-up bastard._ Yohji dubiously reassured himself. _It won't be anything close to normal._ Neither of them were normal, anyway. _Aya is the only one you actually feel connected with anymore. He has to feel it, or he wouldn't have been haunting you. I can't believe he admitted that._  
  
Aya looked over at him, finally catching on that he wasn't alone anymore. He had been grinding the palms of his hands into his eyes. He lowered them; Yohji took note that the katana was on the ground, not at his waist. "You thought I would kill you," Aya's voice was shakier than Yohji expected, he paused in his path to the man's side. "And yet you say I'm like that woman to you."  
  
It made Yohji bare his teeth in not-quite-a-smile. "She wanted to kill me too, yanno."  
  
Aya crouched down on the ledge and looked away from him. "Is that what love is to you, Yohji? Did she ruin you that much?"  
  
The words hit him like another sword hilt in his gut. Yohji watched him warily. "Aya, that's not..."  
  
When Aya looked back up at him, his face was riddled with lines of stress. "You thought I would kill you. If that's..." Aya gave a slight shake of his head, lips curled with disgust. "How can you claim to...why are you still pursuing this?"  
  
_Well, shit._ Yohji swallowed. "You didn't."  
  
Aya shook his head slightly. His mouth was drawn in a grim line. A breeze blew across the roof and tousled his hair, the locks a dark blood-red in the dim light from the streetlamps below the building.  
  
"Aya...Ran, I didn't think I'd need to repeat myself here, and I know this isn't the best timing, but fuck, I didn't mean to say it earlier and now I have to or you're never going to let me explain myself." The words rushed out of Yohji's mouth.  
  
Aya stood up. Yohji noticed he'd brought his katana up with him. "You don't know me."  
  
"Maybe I'd like to! Dammit, Ran!" Yohji passed a hand over his face and through his hair. He felt like screaming. He saw the potential between them so clearly, the potential to find some meaning in what was left of their lives; and yet the other man appeared completely blind to it. "Let me finish. I know you well enough to know I fucking love you."  
  
Aya frowned and opened his mouth. Yohji hastily cut him off. "We've lived together for a long time. I talk to you every day. And you talk to me too, dammit. I know you don't go to anyone else when you're actually feeling like you want to be with someone, at least not someone other than your sister, so don't even try. I've made you smile, I know I have, so don't you dare deny that too, Ayan. This goes fucking deeeper than just being teammates and you fucking know it!"  
  
"You will get over this." Aya watched him with a hard expression. His eyes were almost black in the near-darkness and completely unreadable.  
  
Yohji steeled his resolve. He crossed the distance between them so he could see the man's face better. It didn't help, and it made Aya glare at him. "You said I was a threat to the team. That's not it, is it, Ayan? You meant I was a threat to you." Yohji was on completely unsteady ground, and in this arena, he was unused to it. _Only one other person ever got to you like this._  
  
Aya looked away.  
  
"Have you seen my sister, Yohji?" Aya finally spoke. "Does she look as happy to you as when she first returned? I did that to her, by bringing her into this life."  
  
"Bullshit," Yohji spat.  
  
Aya's lips thinned.  
  
Yohji's eyes widened. "You think..."  
  
No. That was simply _idiotic_.  
  
"You're protecting me...from you? Is that what you think you're doing?" Yohji's voice sounded amazed, even to his own ears.  
  
Aya readjusted his grip on his katana, Yohji saw his fingers flex on it.  
  
Scraps of realization like tatters of a rag were repairing themselves into a whole tapestry in Yohji's mind. The final image he saw wasn't anything he had actually anticipated.  
  
"So that's what you meant. You think you're a ghost. You think you can just set your sister up and leave her. You think you can pawn me off to a different life." Yohji's voice rose into a shout. "Am I right, Ran?" He grabbed Aya by his biceps, dragging him away from the ledge. Aya stumbled, not expecting it, and tried to tear free.  
  
"I'm not suicidal." Aya's voice was flat. He yanked on his arm again, but Yohji had a firm grip on his coat by that point. Aya hadn't raised his sword despite that.  
  
"Because you're too responsible, is that it? But you've been taking care of your responsibilities." Fear was driving the anger in Yohji's voice. A note of wonder joined the other emotions. "You think I'm one of them. So you do care. You fucking care, Ran."  
  
"Let go of me!" Aya glared at him.  
  
"I don't want to," Yohji passed a hand through his hair. "Dammit, Ran, I don't want to and it's my choice, got that?!"  
  
Aya twisted out of Yohji's grip. He watched Yohji with his face shadowed by crimson shafts of hair.  
  
Yohji took a deep breath. He might love him, but at the moment he really did feel like fighting Aya. "So I'm not right? Swear to it. Swear you aren't just giving up on yourself."  
  
Aya shot him a poisonous look, but didn't answer.  
  
Yohji felt his own expression turn pained. "Fuck. Fuck it, Aya, you're not a demon. We do what we do to _protect_ innocents, remember? We're not any sort of dark beast. We deserve to find happiness with at least each other!"  
  
Aya closed his eyes. It took him a moment, but finally he spoke. "I'm not planning on leaving this, Kudoh." He opened his eyes and met Yohji's. "You should."  
  
"What?" Yohji felt like laughing. That almost sounded like Aya was planning for his _future._ "You've thought this through. You've thought about it, and you're still not planning on giving me a chance. Don't you dare place yourself in a different category than me, we do the same damned job, Ayan. I'm not planning on leaving this either. Not if I have you."  
  
"That's what I'm-!" Aya finally rose his voice. "Goddamnit, Yohji."  
  
"You know what? At this point, I don't think I'd be happier doing anything else, Ran. I've just been searching to make this whole mess of my life less lonely, and you aren't what I was expecting, but God, you're a lot fucking more than I deserve."  
  
Yohji was stunned to see that Aya had actually started to tremble. It couldn't be because the man was cold - he was still in his mission coat and Yohji was warm enough without his shirt. He wasn't meeting his eyes any longer.  
  
"You still haven't left, or pushed me over the edge of the roof," Yohji pointed out quietly.  
  
There was a twitch on the corners of Aya's mouth, but Yohji wasn't stupid enough to mistake it for amusement.  
  
When he raised his head, Aya searched Yohji's eyes with his own. "So you think you know what you want. You're an idiot, Kudoh."  
  
"No, you know what? You don't know what I want." Yohji snapped at him, and stepped forward, brushing the fabric of Aya's mission coat with his bare chest. Aya started to step backwards, but Yohji grabbed his arm tightly. "I want to make you happy. I want you to give me the chance to fucking make you happy, Aya!"  
  
Aya's expression was inscrutable. They faced off silently, with Yohji trying to keep it together as best he could while Aya obviously tried to find a way to explain he never wanted to be happy and didn't deserve to, anyway.  
  
"Which am I?" Aya suddenly barked at him.  
  
"What?" Yohji's eyebrows shot up.  
  
"You keep switching. Either I'm Aya to you, or I'm Ran. Which is it, Yohji?" Aya narrowed his eyes at him. "I don't care, but choose."  
  
"You're both. No, fuck. Okay. You're Ran. You've always been Ran." Yohji narrowed his eyes right back at the redhead, unsure what the question meant to him. "You're still the same person either way, yanno. What the hell does it matter what I call you? What do you want to be called?"  
  
Ran didn't answer for a moment, but examined Yohji's face. "Fine."  
  
Yohji spread his arms helplessly. "It doesn't matter, Ran."  
  
In a burst of movement, Ran stepped forward without warning and pressed their bodies together. He brushed his eyes only briefly across Yohji's, almost like he was seeking permission for something, and suddenly, Ran's lips were on his. Ran gripped Yohji's shoulders, as if he actually thought Yohji was going somewhere.  
  
Yohji's eyes widened but his body caught up with him before he did something stupid like step backward with surprise. After the shock wore off, he reciprocated enthusiastically. Ran's mouth was softer than he was expecting, but it was hard and insistent on Yohji's. They stumbled backward a couple of steps, off-balance with frantic movement. Yohji kept his hands on Ran's back, not assuming he was granted permission for anything else, but Ran's hands threaded through his hair and then traveled down his back to his thighs and back again to his shoulders. Yohji's hips pressed forward automatically into Ran's before he could stop himself. For a brief, wonderful moment, he could feel Ran's body was responding to his.  
  
Abruptly, Ran broke away.  
  
Yohji felt the smile bloom on his face and knew he looked like a complete, happy fool in the face of what was certainly the kiss of death.  
  
Ran had opened his mouth and looked like he was about to either yell at Yohji or hit him, but there was a note of resignation there. Suddenly, he did a doubletake.  
  
Yohji almost, _almost_ laughed, but he wasn't certain he would keep from crying with frustration if he let go of even a shred of control.  
  
Ran closed his mouth, and he suddenly scanned Yohji's face.  
  
Ran's eyebrows went up. His mouth parted slightly. He blinked.  
  
Yohji stepped forward and reached a hand up to brush hair away from Ran's forehead. "Was that so horrible, Ran?"  
  
Ran worked his mouth. "I..." He took a step backwards.  
  
Yohji's eyebrows went up as he suddenly figured it out. "Yeah. That made me happy, _Ran._ "  
  
The other man looked so confused that Yohji couldn't quite hold back a small chuckle. It held a note of bitterness.  
  
_So this is where Ran tells you that seeing you happy is the last thing he wants._  
  
Ran still wore that same surprised expression. Yohji gave him an encouraging smile despite the feeling he was like a moth heading for a bonfire. "Yeah," he said again. "Yeah, you make me _happy_ , Ran."  
  
Suddenly, Ran threw his katana down. It clattered away from them noisily. Yohji stared after it, bemused. He looked back to see Ran working with the buckles on his mission coat.  
  
"What are you..." Yohji watched him with amazement. The man shrugged out of the heavy leather jacket quickly, the clothing falling to the ground. Ran's chest was moving with quick, silent breathing under the thin fabric of his black undershirt.  
  
"You're an _idiot,_ " Ran stressed to him again. "So this is your fault. But if this is what you want, Yohji," he paused and looked up to catch Yohji's eyes before looking away again. "You already know I've been watching you."  
  
Yohji didn't take the time to make sure Ran meant what he hoped/thought/knew/hoped he meant. He stepped closer. He watched in confusion as Ran spread his coat flat on the ground.  
  
Ran glanced up at him.  
  
"If you mean what I think you mean..." Yohji eyed the coat, then eyed Ran's face, then back to the coat. It didn't look inviting, but Yohji found he didn't care if Ran was suggesting what he thought he was suggesting.  
  
Ran gave him another hooded look. "If you need anything to do this, you should get it." The redhead's stressed, pale face actually began to look worried. "Unless you don't want..."  
  
Yohji choked. "Fuck, Ran, how can you even ask that? I'm not complaining. But just a second ago...it's gonna kill me if you do this just once. If you're doing this out of pity, or because you think it's gonna be enough, you might as well go back to plan A and just run me through and be done with it."  
  
Ran paused. He had his fingers on the hem of his mission shirt, about to pull it over his head. "It was the look on your face, Yohji. I didn't think..." He trailed off. He looked up then, and for the first time, Yohji saw his expression soften into a look Yohji categorized as 'Ran's face.' The one he used when he looked at his sister.  
  
Ran sat down on the blanket, and wrapped his bare arms around his knees. He looked up again at Yohji. "I will...try this." He looked away again. "That's all I can promise."  
  
Yohji didn't bother asking why they didn't move to one of their bedrooms, he knew the answer. He took another hard look at Ran to make sure he was serious, then bolted for the stairs.  
  
*****  
  
The three remaining residents of the Koneko were in the mission room. Omi had an arm around Aya-chan, who was in a nightgown. The two were sitting on the couch. Ken was sitting backwards in a chair, trying very hard not to look at Aya's sister.  
  
Ken threw a worried glance toward the stairs. It was more than a little pissed off, too. He was still in his mission gear, but Omi had told him not to go upstairs and Aya-chan had agreed with him. He thought it was stupid to let Yohji anywhere near Aya, but if the man's own sister thought it was for the best, then he wasn't about to be the scapegoat for the fallout by showing up in the middle of a showdown between the two oldest Weiss. Because in Ken's mind, that was the only outcome possible. "Are you both sure..." He started.  
  
"Yes." Both Aya-chan and Omi said.  
  
"Ran will be okay," Aya-chan stated firmly. "Yohji-kun will be good for him."  
  
"If Aya-kun, I mean, Ran-kun doesn't..." Omi sounded a little worried.  
  
"He won't." Aya-chan looked cross for a moment.  
  
Omi looked nervously at her. "Sorry, Aya-chan! He can really be grumpy sometimes, though..."  
  
Ken snorted at the understatement of the century. "I know he's your brother, Aya-chan, but he can also be a pretty big bastard. I still don't think he needs Yohji's fucked-up..."  
  
"Ken-kun!" Omi snapped. "How can you talk like that about Yohji-kun?"  
  
Ken shrugged. "He's a great guy, but you gotta admit, he goes through his dates..."  
  
"I might not know Yohji-kun very well, but this is different." Aya-chan looked resolute. "He really loves him, I know it."  
  
"Mm-hm." Ken muttered. "He kil-"  
  
"KEN-KUN!" Omi roared at him. He immediately looked contrite. "That's NOT the same thing, and isn't..."  
  
"I know, I know..." Ken said, and genuinely felt like a jackass. Even if it was true.  
  
"Boys!" Aya-chan rolled her eyes. "You really are clueless." She stuck out her tongue at Omi.  
  
Omi kissed her. She giggled and snuck a glance sideways at Ken, a little guiltily, then kissed Omi back.  
  
Ken gagged, and hoped that if Aya was going to kill Yohji, he would do it soon, so he could flee to his room. He was happy for Omi and Aya-chan, but they were both pretty cute on their own - he was beginning to suspect that he would only be able to take them together in small doses, or he'd start seeing rainbows, kittens, puppies and bunnies every time he closed his eyes.  
  
A door closed upstairs. A single pair of footsteps were heard, a door opened, then the footsteps came back and faded.  
  
Ken was pretty sure everyone present was imagining Aya coming down to pick up some rags and cleaning solution to take care of what was left of Yohji on the pavement.  
  
"Actually," Omi said after a moment of silence, "Maybe I should go check on them."  
  
Even Aya-chan didn't argue with him.  
  
*****


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explicit in this chapter.

*****  
  
Ran remained still as Yohji exited the roof and briefly considered jumping over the ledge. He'd made the leap before, and possibly the other building had an escape route.  
  
But, no. He'd reached a decision, and for better or for worse, whatever happened to Yohji would be his fault if he reneged on it now. He couldn't quite believe it, and didn't want to, but Yohji had finally convinced him that part of the man's happiness did, in fact, rest on Ran's own actions. It was incomprehensible to him, but logical observation refused to let him refute his findings.  
  
He'd left Yohji alone, or at least tried to, because he thought that aside from their work in the flowershop and as Weiss and the fact of their being housemates, Yohji's life and his life did not intersect.  
  
Yohji would be happier without him.  
  
...eventually.  
  
Ran had not, however, left Yohji alone because he wasn't interested in him. He was all too aware of that.  
  
Which was why his decision was not healthy for him. Yohji would have him, become tired of him, and move on.  
  
_And it was better that that happen sooner rather than later._ So Ran could get his own emotions over with, and get on with his life, sans the tension recently cloaking evreything in the Koneko. He had enough to deal with, without the responsibility of a relationship.  
  
_And when that excuse begins to sound old to you?_  
  
Ran rested his chin on his knees. The cement beneath his jacket was not comfortable in the least, and the longer Yohji stayed away, the sillier his proposition seemed.  
  
He had pulled his shirt back down over his chest. Something about waiting bare-chested for someone to come back and fuck you felt somehow degrading.  
  
Not that such an action would seem out of place for a man like Yohji.  
  
The door to the roof opened suddenly. Yohji peeked his head around the corner, before strolling outside. He held a small bottle of liquid in a hand that also held onto a pillow, and a blanket in the other.  
  
Ran must have been wearing some sort of expression because Yohji waved the items at him. "Don't worry, don't worry, no one saw me."  
  
He sat down on the blanket next to him. Ran tried not to move, though their arms were touching.  
  
Yohji tilted his head at him and smiled. It was small, and genuine, not one of the bullshit grins he usually wore.  
  
Ran watched him back silently. It felt weird to him, knowing he was allowed to look now, and Yohji would know why.  
  
Suddenly, Yohji produced a wet washcloth from what he was carrying. Ran snorted, looked at Yohji to make sure he was serious, then growled. "What the hell?"  
  
"I cleaned up downstairs. You still have blood on your face." Yohji explained. "May I?"  
  
Ran lost the pained smile and frowned. He was tempted to just take it and clean himself off, irritated with the illogical embarrassment he felt. Yohji was watching him expectantly; finally, he gave a short nod.  
  
Yohji smiled. "Good." He reached up and touched Ran's face gently, then frowned. "This isn't other people's."  
  
Ran glared at him. "It's not serious, either."  
  
"It might explain why you're allowing me to touch you now," A glance at Yohji's face showed he was joking, then immediately worried about what he'd said.  
  
Ran sighed, and allowed a small smile to let Yohji know that he got it. "I feel like I'm getting cleaned by a cat, Yohji. Enough."  
  
Yohji swiped at his hands. With an expression of disgust, Ran grabbed the cloth and wiped off his own appendages, then threw it to the side. "Okay?"  
  
"Definitely more than okay," Yohji grinned at him, then slowly dragged his gaze from his face down his body.  
  
Ran felt himself blushing despite himself, and knew it probably showed on his goddamned complexion.  
  
Suddenly, Yohji's fingers grabbed his chin and guided his face toward him. Ran allowed it, taken by surprise. He met Yohji's green eyes and let them search his own.  
  
The expression on Yohji's face was soft. It took him aback, that Yohji could look like that. The transformation from mask to authenticity was breathtaking.  
  
Ran kissed Yohji first, his own hand traveling to the back of Yohji's head to guide him forward to his lips. Yohji met him eagerly, his eyes closing.  
  
Ran watched him for a minute, still taken aback that he had any sort of power whatsoever to make Yohji look like that, to make him look happy. After months of watching him fall apart day by day, to realize that it was, in the end, somehow tied to how Yohji felt about him...  
  
Yohji broke away. He searched Ran's face.  
  
"It's nothing." Ran said. He brushed a finger across his own lips, feeling wetness there.  
  
Yohji still looked troubled. "Ran, if this isn't what you want..."  
  
"It's not that." Ran sucked in a breath, trying to steady his breathing.  
  
Yohji's fingers threaded through the short hair on the back of his head. "Then what, baby?"  
  
Ran shot a glance sideways, but kept the protest at the endearment to himself. "You've been falling to hell. I've been watching you. It's...I never thought it could have anything to do with me."  
  
Yohji's smile twisted. "Not just you, don't worry about that. You know I'm not the most...I have my own ghosts, my own mess..." Yohji suddenly drew in a shaky breath. "I guess it's not fair of me to bring them to you. I guess I really don't deserve..."  
  
"Where have you been going at night?" Ran cut him off before Yohji got any worse. He hadn't meant to bring back his depression, and it was alarming.  
  
Yohji looked away from him, up over the roofs of the skyline. "This cafe Asuka and I used to go to. I sometimes...god, Ran, I'm sorry."  
  
Noise from the traffic in the distance filled the silence. Finally Ran cleared his throat.  
  
"We're each of us in Weiss because of tragedy, Yohji." Ran placed a hand on Yohji's bare arm.  
  
Yohji looked back at him. He looked surprised.  
  
"You're the one who thinks we don't need to go through it alone." Ran watched his face carefully. "I've agreed with you by agreeing to this."  
  
Yohji actually did a doubletake. Ran kept his face neutral, though it was embarrassing that somehow, it sounded like he was now convincing Yohji to give them a chance.  
  
Suddenly Yohji flopped backwards onto the coat with one arm flung to the side, and tugged Ran down with him. Ran flailed, pushed off-balance, then acquiesced with a glare.  
  
Yohji smiled again, and tugged again on Ran's arm. When Ran didn't budge, he somehow managed to weasil his arm beneath Ran's shoulders and pull him closer. To avoid being uncomfortable, Ran was forced to move the rest of his body closer, too. Yohji grabbed the pillow and stuck it behind them.  
  
Overhead, there was a waning moon and scattered stars visible in the dark void beyond the dusky glow of the streetlamps. The sky only held a few wispy clouds, drifting slowly in front of the galaxies.  
  
Yohji turned to him. Ran saw him move out of the corner of his eye. He turned for a better look at Yohji's face, but Yohji immediately caught his lips with his own.  
  
Yohji no longer kissed him gently. A tongue pushed into Ran's mouth; he allowed it and was amazed to find it felt good. Yohji caught his lower lip gently between his teeth; let it go, and brushed his tongue on Ran's again.  
  
Ran gasped into his mouth and reciprocated, trying to copy Yohji's movements as best he could. They'd both turned onto their sides. Ran gripped Yohji's shoulder, fingers pressing into Yohji's skin.  
  
Yohji's hand had found the hem of his shirt. Ran lifted off the ground and helped him pull it over his head.  
  
"Fuck." Yohji muttered. His eyes were dark, looking Ran over. "Just-"  
  
Ran smiled. Yohji looked up at him and grinned back. Ran placed a hand into the center of Yohji's chest and pushed him backward, throwing a leg over his waist to straddle him. His eyes widened for a moment; Yohji bucked his hips upward, confirming the hardening bulge Ran had felt.  
  
Ran bent down and took Yohji's lips in his again. He thrust forward; the fabric between them was maddening and constricting. Yohji dragged himself against Ran again. Ran shuddered and moved into it. He placed a hand on Yohji's chest and felt the man's muscles shift beneath his palm, felt the erratic breaths he was taking, felt his heartbeat. He slid it lower over Yohji's skin and found the buckle of his belt.  
  
Suddenly, there was a gasp. It didn't come from either man. Unmistakably, the door to the roof clicked shut.  
  
There was a smattering of footsteps. Both of their heads whipped around to see Omi running toward them, still in his mission gear. "Oh my God, Aya, don't kill hi-augh!" Omi skidded to a stop. His eyes widened more than his anatomy should allow. "I'm _sorry_ , oh, my god, don't kill me..." Omi pivoted and sprinted for the door without waiting for a response. "Oh my god!" The words faded into the stairwell as Omi disappeared.  
  
Ran stared at the empty roof, in shock.  
  
Yohji suddenly snorted.  
  
Ran turned to him. Yohji's eyes were beginning to water.  
  
Ran felt a small smile appearing on his face, despite himself.  
  
"Serves-" Yohji gasped, then broke out into wheezing laughter. His body shook beneath Ran's. "Serves the chibi right!"  
  
A small noise escaped Ran's throat. He surprised himself to realize it was a chuckle.  
  
He couldn't hold it in. In a moment, he was laughing along with Yohji, doubling over until his forehead hit Yohji's shoulder.  
  
*****  
  
Yohji wrapped his arms around Ran's back as he doubled over, snorting with laughter. He'd heard the man laugh, really laugh, less times than could fit on one hand. He held him as his body shook and his own laughter died down, relishing the feel of Ran's bare skin against his. He watched Ran's face out of the corner of his eye. He had his eyes squinted shut, and it was obvious that his smile wasn't one that was used often. He would have been able to tell even if he hadn't known it to be the truth.  
  
Omi's appearance had taken a little bit of zest out of things, but his body was quickly recovering. He pressed upward to remind Ran of that.  
  
Ran lifted his head and refocused on his face, smile softening but still there. He lifted his hips off of Yohji and took his hand off of Yohji's belt, instead rubbing it over Yohji's hard-on, through his pants.  
  
Yohji gasped and bent his head backwards. He was pleased to find Ran had enough initiative to press a kiss on his neck. He bucked his hips upward again, encouraging.  
  
Ran thrust against him, then pulled his belt off. He worked on Yohji's next. Yohji lifted up again to claim first his lips, then his mouth with his tongue. His hand found Ran's ass and gripped it, pulling the man's body into him harder.  
  
Ran rolled off of him and tugged off his tight mission pants. He lay on the ground on his back and kicked the clothing away from him. Yohji followed suit, as quickly as he could. He watched Ran the entire time, taking in the contrast of pale skin against the dark briefs he wore, and his bare skin beneath his head of crimson hair. His muscled chest was rising and falling with shallow breaths.  
  
Ran was watching him right back, violet eyes almost completely dilated. Yohji rolled over with a growl and straddled him, completely naked. Ran bucked his hips up and tugged off the briefs underneath Yohji's legs. Yohji settled back down onto him with a gasp. "God, Ran...god..."  
  
He never thought he would actually get to see the other man like this. He'd thought about it often, he'd dreamt about, and to actually have him there, under him, willing and watching him with that _expression..._ Yohji brought a finger up to touch Ran's cheek.  
  
Ran looked surprised. "Are you waiting for something, Yohji?"  
  
Yohji took in a shaky little breath. "I love you, Ran. If this is gonna be the only time...just let me savor it a moment, okay?"  
  
"Hn." There was a small twitch on the corner of Ran's mouth. It revealed itself as a smile a moment later.  
  
He was rock-hard beneath him. Ran bucked once and the moment was over; Yohji was getting painfully hard and sentimentality was going to have to wait. He reached for the lube, then paused.  
  
"I don't care," Ran interrupted his thoughts. "Just choose. I'm not going to be able to..."  
  
Yohji realized he was shaking underneath of him. He fumbled with the cap on the bottle. "If you've never..."  
  
Ran grabbed the bottle from his with a small noise that could have been a growl and slicked his hands. He grabbed Yohji's dick and Yohji doubled over with a gasp. "Oh, fuck." He thrust into Ran's hands, then attempted to hold himself back, shuddering. "Are you..."  
  
Yohji slid flat against Ran, their bodies pressing hard into each other's stomachs. Ran spread his legs and wrapped them around Yohji's thighs. With shaking hands, he took the lube back from Ran and slicked his fingers, sliding them between their bodies to find Ran's entrance and press inside. Ran was gritting his teeth, but nodded at Yohji to continue. Yohji put the bottle aside and grabbed Ran's length; the man gasped and thrust upward into his palm.  
  
"Enough," Ran hissed.  
  
Yohji closed his eyes to collect himself, then met Ran's eyes. He watched him steadily.  
  
Yohji pressed inside him, slowly. Ran's back arched and he shifted; Yohji did his best to find the right angle and not thrust as deep as he could immediately. He wanted to start up a hard, fast rhythm, but held himself back.  
  
Suddenly Ran made a noise that was different than pain. "There. Just -" Ran's hips bucked forward, and Yohji let out a shuddering grunt as his body took over. He pressed himself all the way inside, drew out, and tried to hit that same spot that made Ran make that noise again, and again.  
  
"Fuck!" Ran gasped. "Fuck! Yohji!"  
  
Yohji's hand beat faster between them, rubbing over Ran's tip and back, as he shoved his body forward into Ran's and pulled out again. They thrust harder, in tandem, and Yohji was suddenly unable to maintain any semblence of control, buried inside of Ran and gasping with the feeling of it.  
  
Ran suddenly shouted and arched his back even as Yohji continued to move and thrust into him; the shaking of the other man's body brought him over. He collapsed on top of Ran, trembling and gasping until his vision returned. He took one last thrust and pulled out, as slowly and as gently as he could.  
  
They lay for a moment, their breathing loud and out of sync in the quiet night.  
  
Yohji flung an arm over Ran's body and tugged him closer on his coat. Ran allowed it. The roof wasn't the best place to have done that; Yohji was feeling parts of him begin to ache with bruises.  
  
He'd take it. Fuck, he'd take it all, for that.  
  
He looked over. Ran had those intense eyes on him again, but his expression was the most relaxed Yohji could ever remember seeing it.  
  
Ran smiled at him. It made Yohji's chest ache with the beauty of it, and the knowledge he'd contributed to that expression. "Please don't tell me that was a one-time thing," he begged softly.  
  
Ran closed his eyes, head resting on Yohji's arm. "Hn."  
  
Yohji had years of experience interpreting Ran's non-word communication. He was one hundred percent positive that particular one was agreement.  
  
Yohji smiled, and tugged the blanket over them both. He continued to watch Ran until the man's breathing grew steady, and the remaining lines of tension left his face.  
  
Yohji touched his forehead gently to Ran's. He let his own eyes fall shut.  
  
*****


	9. Chapter 9

*****  
  
Aya-chan and Ken stared at the floor and the television respectively, in Omi's absence. Finally Ken cleared his throat. "So, uh, you, you and Omi..."  
  
"We're together!" Aya-chan cut in fiercely. She met his eyes.  
  
"Uh..." Ken was blushing now, he felt it, but that was okay, because Aya-chan was too, despite her defiance. "Not what I was gonna say."  
  
"...oh." Aya-chan ended meekly.   
  
Ken's brain decided to torture him with some of the possibilities 'together' meant, and he had to hold himself back from the 'oh yeah and next time get a room, okay, thanks' comment he would have given Omi.  
  
Ken coughed again. "I was gonna say, you and Omi really made up a personal profile for Yohji? Because..." He ahemmed, and mustered a smile. "That's brilliant. Should have let me in on it. Also, I got a date out of it, so I'm gonna have to thank the two of you."  
  
Aya-chan smiled a little at him. "Well, it seems like it was a pretty bad idea."  
  
Ken shrugged. "Worked out okay, didn't it?"  
  
Aya-chan immediately looked depressed. She gave a tiny shrug.  
  
"Hey," Ken gave her a fuller smile, even if he felt worried about things, too. Things like, _maybe she's right, 'cause Omi's not back yet, and maybe one of them's short a few limbs_ and _oh fuck we're screwed if Yohji's not serious_ and _actually, we are fucked, 'cause we're gonna hafta find a new teammate either way. And if Aya goes and takes his sister, oh boy, Omi's not gonna like that now._   
  
"Hey," he repeated, this time with a lot less confidence. "They're adults. Well, Aya is. They'll work it out."  
  
"Aya." Aya-chan repeated. She wasn't quite meeting his eyes. When she did, Ken was sorry. She looked way too much like her brother, at least in that creepy, haunted expression. "You're both really worried he'd hurt Yohji? Just for...just for liking him? That's just so...my brother just wouldn't ever..."  
  
Ken ran a hand through his hair. "Shit. I don't know. It's not 'cause he's a bad guy, it's just that Ay-I mean, Ran, sorry - it just might fu-I mean, sorry, mess, it might mess with the team, he's just kinda responsible, and Yohji-" Ken felt a little guilty for spilling all this about his teammates, even if it was to the sister of one of them. "He's just been kinda going down hill these days."   
  
Aya-chan watched him with wide eyes. "So has Ran." Her voice was so quiet Ken almost didn't hear her.  
  
Ken's eyes widened in response. "What? He's got you back. Best he's ever been. Don't worry about your brother."  
  
Aya-chan looked like she was on the verge of tears. Shit. This was why he didn't talk to girls much. "No, Ken-kun. He's not doing okay." The tears switched on, Ken began praying Omi would get his ass back down there. "And I think it's because of me."  
  
Ken shook his head vigorously. "Ridiculous! Stop worrying so much! The guy's fine. He's just angsting over having nothing left to angst about." He gave her a big, reassuring grin. "Just kidding! Really. He's getting better. He's actually talking now!"  
  
If anything, that just made her look sadder.  
  
There was a sudden commotion on the stairs that made Ken think someone might have gotten pushed down them. Aya-chan and Ken both leapt to their feet. Omi skidded into the room a second later, his eyes wide.   
  
"Who's dead?!" Ken squeaked.  
  
Omi shook his head. "Uh, um, uh, no one! No one. Everything's fine."  
  
Ken narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Who's bleeding, then?"  
  
Omi shook his head harder. "You know what, guys, uh, I'm really tired. Gonna go to bed. You should too. Don't go on the roof, okay?"   
  
"Is Ran okay? Is..." Aya-chan's voice held a tremble. "Is Yohji-kun okay?"  
  
"They're having sex!" Omi suddenly exploded, then went beet-red. "Oh. My. God." He turned on his heel and ran upstairs.   
  
"Good night!" Trailed down from the stairwell.  
  
Ken studiously did not look at Aya-chan. "Uhm. Well. See? They're okay. You good to go to sleep now, too?"  
  
Ken saw the girl nod out of the corner of his eyes.  
  
"Okay. Good. Well. Have a, uh, nice, uh, sweet dreams." He fled.  
  
*****  
  
Ran woke sore, everywhere, and with his left side freezing. For some reason his right side was almost hot. He had a headache, and his left arm felt like there was a rock beneath it.   
  
...a rock.   
  
...one side warm.   
  
Ran's eyes shot open. He found himself looking into the beginnings of a sunrise, spreading into the sky above the buildings neighboring the Koneko's roof.   
  
_You slept with Yohji,_ his internal voice informed him rationally. _You fell asleep naked on the roof._  
  
He took in a slow breath of crisp morning air. He blew it out. It didn't steady his emotions like he'd hoped it would.   
  
_You slept with a teammate._ Did that matter more or less than the fact that it was Yohji? _Less,_ he admitted. _Less, because it was good. Yohji was good, even on the roof, on a coat, when you were both tired and you had a gash on your head and you hurt Yohji's ribs when you hit him, though he doesn't think you care._  
  
Beside him, Yohji shifted and mumbled something, and threw an arm across his shoulders, tugging on his frame. Ran didn't accommodate. Yohji scooted closer to him anyway.   
  
Ran stared over the edge of the roof, and allowed it. Yohji's bare chest was pressed against his arm, his face was nuzzled into the back of his head. He could feel Yohji's cold nose through his hair.   
  
It wasn't unpleasant.   
  
_It bothers you that you slept with Yohji because you don't mind this._ Ran's thoughts coalesced again. _You should mind this. It's awkward. It's getting late. You hurt. The others will know, even if Omi keeps his mouth shut._  
  
He wished he could stop from psycho-analyzing himself. He wanted to turn it off. But Yohji was keeping him trapped there, and despite that he needed to be opening the shop that morning and had planned to work through katas before then, he found himself unwilling to leave Yohji on the roof to wake up alone.   
  
Yohji had been so wrong in his assumptions it was tragically funny. Ran cared about the man at his back. They had slept together, and it was good. And that meant that Ran couldn't ignore it, or pretend that it wasn't eating away at his soul, watching Yohji kill himself with drink, and cigarettes, and lack of sleep, and strangers in his bed.   
  
But he was still powerless to stop it. He had no right. He didn't want the right; he could barely care for his sister. His sister was taking more care of him since she had awakened, if he were honest. He wanted to give Yohji something to make him heal, but he found nothing within himself aside from the painful tatters of feeling that refused to mend into real emotions.  
  
So Yohji had been right about him.  
  
Ran saw nothing left in himself, but a drive to go on, because he could not leave his sister, or his teammates, alone.  
  
 _If that were true, why did you do this?_ Ran asked himself. _You couldn't have actually thought this would make Yohji happy for more than a night._   
  
He moved his left arm, gingerly. There was indeed a piece of cement that had chipped off the building beneath it. He frowned at it as if it were to blame for the aches everywhere else.  
  
"Better not be leavin'...be lonely..." Yohji suddenly mumbled into his ear.  
  
Ran stilled. Yohji's bicep tightened across his own.  
  
"I have to piss," Ran informed him.   
  
"There's a rooftop," Yohji muttered sleepily.  
  
Ran glared out of the side of his eyes at him. "This is not a bed."  
  
"Your choice..." Yohji replied.  
  
Ran would not have guessed that Yohji would be coherent in the mornings. It figured.   
  
"I don't want to be here," Ran stated finally.  
  
Yohji had been nuzzling his neck. The man stilled. It was a long, silent moment before Yohji removed his arm.  
  
"It's uncomfortable," Ran added, almost gently. He hadn't meant to sound like an ass, but Yohji never listened to him unless he was. "You should move too."  
  
Ran sat up, his movements stiff. He looked over his shoulder. Yohji's hair was mussed, his eyes were sleepy but tracking him. He had one arm behind his head, the other was searching in his discarded pants, Ran assumed it was for cigarettes. Yohji confirmed his guess and lit one, letting it hang from the corner of his lip. Finally, he gave Ran a smile, lopsided and intentionally easy-going.   
  
He'd taken too long to muster it.   
  
"So, Ran, not bad, huh? Ol' Yohji Kudoh live up to his reputation?" Yohji patted his stomach like he'd swallowed a canary.  
  
Ran watched him. Yohji's smiled faltered somewhat, belying his nerves, but it recovered into a full watt grin. "You weren't bad yourself, yanno. Sure you wanna go? We could..."  
  
"No. You didn't live up to your reputation." Ran said shortly, and turned his head so that Yohji couldn't see the small smile on his face.  
  
There was silence from behind him.   
  
He turned, and was immediately sorry. Yohji's face was flat and serious. "Then," Yohji started quietly.  
  
Ran grabbed his pants and pulled them on without his underwear, grabbing his shirt and not bothering to put it on. He stood up. He gave Yohji a small smile. The look Yohji was making him sorry he'd tried to tease. "At some point, you may have to try again."  
  
Yohji's eyebrows went up on his forehead. The lightbulb finally clicked on, a wide smile stretching around the cigarette.   
  
Ran nodded shortly, confirming it, then began walking for the door of the roof.   
  
It surprised him a little that Yohji wanted to do that again, with him. _Hopefully in a bed._ But on the other hand, by the man's own bragging, he didn't seem like the type to turn down any sort of sex.  
  
"Anytime, baby. Yanno, we could even try again now." Yohji called after him. It was followed by a smooth chuckle - Yohji was joking. "I'm even better after I've gotten my beauty sleep."  
  
Ran didn't answer, and went inside to shower.  
  
*****  
  
Ran stared at his own empty bedroom, lit with bright yellow sunlight. Since he'd never been back to it since the mission the night before, he hadn't drawn the curtains. He placed one hand on the frame, then punched it, hard enough to make the wood splinter. He followed it with a string of curses.  
  
He resented taking the time to shower. He damned himself for being selfish, for being so preoccupied with Yohji that he didn't take care of speaking with his sister first...  
  
It was the last place he had to check, his own room. All other places from the mission room to the storage room to the garage had been covered.  
  
A deep panic sent adrenaline through his veins.   
  
_His sister was gone._  
  
 _Why?_   
  
He had almost felt _happy_ just moments ago. The shock of the contrast, one of the very few highs he'd experienced in the last several years of his life aborted by his worst fear, tore a raw wound through his emotions.   
  
It was betrayal. Not on his sister's part, never on hers. But Fate's. It was the price of being selfish, the price of giving in to things he knew would only bring complications.  
  
He hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary about his sister. That was what made him most afraid. She was his opposite in many ways, but in the most important she was truly like him.  
  
 _It was his fault._   
  
He had been so obsessed with Yohji...  
  
It wasn't fair to the man. It wasn't his fault.  
  
Ran had been so obsessed with his own problems, that he had failed to protect her.   
  
No, he hadn't checked everywhere, he suddenly realized.   
  
Ran turned on his heel.  
  
*****  
  
"Aieee!" Omi bolted straight up as his door was kicked in. He was over the side of the bed and crouching behind it before he realized it was _Aya_ standing in his doorway.   
  
Nevertheless, he stayed hidden. "A-Aya-kun?"  
  
"Where is she?" Aya's voice was in a tone Omi hadn't heard for months.  
  
"If-if you're mad that I saw y-y-you and Y-Y-Yohji..." _God, please don't kill him, please don't kill him...._  
  
"Omi." The word was clipped. "My sister. Where is she?"  
  
Omi stood straight up, fear forgotten. "Aya-chan's gone?"   
  
There was a second-long pause. Aya gave a short nod, then turned on his heel. "I'll find her. Don't come."  
  
"But Aya-kun!" Omi began crossing the room.  
  
He managed to stop just short of his own bedroom door slamming in his face.  
  
Determinedly, he grabbed his jacket and ran after Aya.   
  
*****


	10. Chapter 10

*****  
  
Ran heard Omi trotting after him, and did not slow, or turn. "Go home."  
  
"No! Aya, whether you like it or not-" Omi's voice was a little breathless.  
  
"My name is Ran," Ran cut him off sharply. "Go home."  
  
"Sorry! Sorry." There was a pattering and Omi suddenly caught up to him. Ran glanced down and from the corner of his eye saw Omi looking up at him, even as he hurried to keep pace. "But Ran, I thought it was okay with you that I started dating Aya-chan. She said so."  
  
"Did she." Ran said shortly. He couldn't remember having said those exact words.  
  
 _And this is how well you know your own sister. She lies to other people about what you do._ He wasn't angry with her though. How could he be? She was trying to live.   
  
_And you won't let her,_ Ran frowned, though he didn't speak his thoughts aloud.  
  
He had never been sure how else to protect her, short of sending her away, and neither of them wanted that. She kept him, he kept her. They were all that was left of their family. In his view, other people were liabilities.   
  
That didn't mean he wanted her cut off from other people. He had always been okay with her making friends. She needed them. He wanted her to meet someone and have a normal life. It was what their parents would have wanted. It was what he thought she wanted.  
  
But Omi was not a normal life. Omi was _his_ life. In some ways, Omi was worse than his life.  
  
A Takatori bloodline.   
  
Omi had asked him that very question once.   
  
Ran had told him that he was not a Takatori, he was Tsukiyono Omi.  
  
He looked down properly at the boy running beside him. Omi's blue eyes were wide and filled with concern.   
  
_And understanding._  
  
Always too understanding. Understanding to the point that he would sacrifice himself completely for another.   
  
Ran made a sharp left around the corner of a building. Omi had to fall back several paces to get around it, and when he did, he ran into the bicycle rack on the sidewalk with a sharp cry.  
  
Ran kept his hasty step, then slowed. He stopped, and turned.  
  
Omi was holding his knee, but was picking up pace again. He straightened when he caught sight of Ran and trotted up to him. "Well, so you didn't give us permission! But you know what, she asked me, and it's her decision! What am I going to tell her, A-Ran? She's not going to like it at all if I tell her you told us no."  
  
Ran really could have punched Omi just then, and it wasn't a feeling he was used to when it came to their youngest teammate. "Omi. I'm not going to disallow it."  
  
Omi worked his mouth. Finally, looking completely unsure of himself, he asked, "Then I'm coming with you to find her?"  
  
"We'll both be back, Omi." Ran finally sighed. "You didn't tell the others where we went."  
  
Omi's eyes widened farther. "No, they don't know we've gone, but - Ran, I feel like it's my fault! I...oh my god, I was so embarrassed last night, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I didn't even want to face her and I think she looked upset and it's my fault that I didn't even say a proper goodnight to her!"  
  
Ran shook his head shortly. His lips flattened into a thin line. "You might not have comforted her, but you also did not make her upset. Let me find my sister by myself."   
  
_Or I'll make you_ was implicit in his tone.  
  
Omi sucked in a slow breath. His shoulders squared visibly. "I'm sorry, Ran, but you're wrong. I'm not going home. I know you're blaming yourself for not taking care of her better, but she's been through a lot and there's no way you can do any better, and I really wish you'd realize that because I wish there was someone who...who.." Omi colored. He took in a deep breath. "She's lucky to have you! She knows that, too. But you aren't...you aren't the brother she knew, and we're all trying to get to know you right now, and it's because we all value you as our friend and your sister loves you."   
  
Ran narrowed his eyes. Omi had delivered several accurate blows in his monologue, but he was damned if he was going to let it get to him right then. They were wasting time. Nevertheless, he waited, because it was obvious Omi wasn't done yet.  
  
"So I'm going to go find her, and you're going to go home, because I really think she left so she could have some time to think about you and she's only going to feel suffocated if you chase her down every time she needs some space!"   
  
Fuck, but he'd forgotten what a bastard their littlest member could be. And not a word he'd said wasn't true.   
  
The two Weiss squared off, Omi with his hands on his waist.  
  
"I'm going with you," Ran said finally, "To make sure that she's there. You will call me if you..." He sighed, and ended more quietly. "...if she won't come back." The words were sour.  
  
Omi nodded resolutely, looking like he'd been given a suicide mission. "But I don't think she was ever intending to run away, Ran-kun." He looked utterly convinced of his words.  
  
Ran supposed he knew that. He didn't answer, but clapped a hand on his shoulder, and Omi took off with another little nod down the sidewalk.  
  
*****  
  
The smile on Yohji's face waned in Ran's absence, after the man left the roof to take his piss or - more likely - simply to flee having to face Yohji after he'd given in. But the suggestion he'd left with hadn't been necessary, and it wasn't like Ran to make false promises, or give false hope.   
  
More like give false, ego-crushing, hope-crushing blows. That was definitely more his nature.  
  
Yohji rolled his neck, wincing at the cricks and wishing that Ran had stayed around. Not that he'd ever be willing to deliver a backrub, but this was Yohji's fantasy, and he could imagine whatever the hell he wanted to. He hurt all over, Ran hadn't been joking. He knew that would be the outcome before they'd started. He still didn't care. Ran had offered a piece of himself and all of his body to Yohji, and that wasn't something he would ever be whining about, in whatever location Ran chose.   
  
Yes, he was pathetic.   
  
And in agonizing love.   
  
_Just had to name it,_ he told himself helplessly. He rolled up the blanket, bundling the container of lube, his clothes and the pillow into it. He tugged on his pants so he could go stand on the ledge of their building without getting caught for public indecency.  
  
The city was beginning to glow, sunlight reflecting off of metal and glass, and the honk of cars and distant sounds of construction filled the air with life. Yohji breathed it in and took a deep drag on his cigarette as well, and for the first time in a long time considered about giving his habit up.  
  
Not that he ever would.   
  
But it was the thought that mattered, and his reasons for thinking it.  
  
*****  
  
Aya-chan knelt on the ground before her parents' graves, probably it was directly over their bodies, if she thought about it. Which of course she did, because how couldn't she? She wished she didn't, though. Even if they were her parents, it was creepy.   
  
And also the closest she would ever be to them again. She touched a bare hand down on the ground at the base of her mother's gravestone.   
  
"I'm sorry we're not better," she offered. She bit her lip. She and Ran had only been back to the graves once since she had woken up. Ran had even hung back then, meters away, while she had paid her respects. She had bawled for hours; he had remained silent and stone-faced through the visit.   
  
_Like maybe he hoped our parents wouldn't know he was there._  
  
Aya-chan's eyes blurred.  
  
"If it makes you feel any better," she continued, "I don't really think he wants me to see him, either."   
  
She removed her hand to place it by her father's grave. She played with a long piece of grass at the edge of it.   
  
She bit her lip, but some tears streaked down her face anyway. "I don't think he wants anyone to see him! I don't understand. He does everything he's supposed to, just like he did back home, except when he snuck out to see that boy that one summer, but you know about..." she took in a deep breath, then gave the grass a shaky smile. "He misses you. I know you know that, but I want to tell you since he won't."   
  
It was a beautiful day out. She wasn't sure if she'd rather it were raining or not, because the contrast with how she felt inside was making her feel a little worse. A slight breeze whispered over the grass and ruffled her skirt and hair.   
  
"Anyway, he's taking care of me, too. So you don't have to worry. And I promise, I'm trying to take care of him." She slid her hand back to her mother's grave, this time touching the stone where her mother's name was carved. "But it's really hard. I think..." She bit back what she was about to say, and decided her parents didn't need to know everything.  
  
She was going to say, _'I think Yohji's trying, too._ ' But her parents didn't know who Yohji was.  
  
She pictured Ran bringing him home.  
  
And giggled, then sobered. Her mom probably would have loved him. Her dad probably would have walked around with that grim expression he wore when one of them had broken something.  
  
Her lip trembled again. She liked Yohji. She wanted Ran to like Yohji, but aside from those quiet nights when she watched her brother watching Yohji, he seemed to hate him.   
  
If she didn't know better. That was something that hadn't changed - Ran had always been one to hide what he was feeling, from everyone. He would sometimes tell her if he was truly mad at their parents, or at another student from school, but hardly ever when he was happy about something. She would have to watch him carefully for those thoughtful expressions and small smiles when he thought no one else was looking.   
  
But now, his housemates didn't see that. It seemed like they all thought of her brother as this heartless, emotionless...  
  
... _assassin._  
  
Aya-chan's eyes widened, then closed. She didn't even want to think the word around her parents' graves. As if ghosts were psychic too.   
  
But that was who she was living with. Four assassins.   
  
Even Omi. She forgot that...well, she forgot that pretty much all the time.  
  
"I'm living with three other really, really good people," she stated to the air. "But you already know that. I told you last time."  
  
"Aya-chan?"   
  
Aya-chan screamed, and scrambled forward to put her parents' graves between herself and the unexpected voice.  
  
It took her a moment to focus and realize that the apparition she was staring at was her assassin boyfriend. Who apparently had assassin-ninja-sneaking skills.   
  
"You scared me!" She yelled at him.  
  
 _How had he found her?!_ She stared at him wide-eyed. She also hadn't thought she would be gone long enough for anyone to miss her.  
  
Omi had been looking incredibly serious. He gave her a small smile that crinkled his eyes. "Sorry. I'm also really sorry for...for interrupting you, but Ran-kun and I, we were both worried when we couldn't find you." He shifted on his feet. "Please don't be mad."  
  
Aya-chan stood up. "Ran told you were to find me?"  
  
Omi nodded.   
  
Aya-chan crossed between the graves to stand by him. She gave her parents a low bow.   
  
Omi bowed too, and it made her smile. When he looked at her, he was still worried. "Are you okay?"  
  
She took his hand. "I just needed to...I miss them," she said.  
  
Omi gave her a look that told her he wished he understood. She wished he'd had parents like hers, too. She gave his hand a squeeze. "I'm okay," she said. "We can go back."  
  
*****  
  
The upstairs was quiet when Yohji finally brought the materials from the previous night's exploits down to wash. Which he did, diligently, and hung to dry over the railing of his own apartment so as to minimize the evidence for Ran's sake.   
  
As his brain woke up as the minutes ticked by, he was becoming more and more incredulous that Ran had actually given in to himself. He also couldn't believe that Ran had pretty much admitted that was what it was - that Yohji had been torturing himself senseless thinking the other man was doing his best to ignore him.  
  
Which, he supposed he was right about. He had just been dead wrong about the reasons.  
  
Apparently.  
  
God, but actually feeling something for the person you were having sex with was mind-blowing. Not that he'd slept with _all_ that many people, but enough in the years since Asuka -  
  
He let out a shaky breath. "Yeah, Asuka. I hope you're okay with it. I bet you are. You'd probably be pissed at me if I didn't find someone else to really care about, wouldn't you."  
  
He knew the answer. He gave his empty room a smile.   
  
Still talking to her ghost. He wondered if that would ever change, even if Ran decided to try out actually realizing that loving another human was a _good_ thing.   
  
Yohji ran a hand through his hair and steeled himself. He was going to have to face Ran at some point, not to mention his other nosy-as-hell housemates. He left his bedroom and went downstairs to the kitchen.  
  
He raised an eyebrow to see Ken at the table.  
  
"Oh, hey, Yohji." Ken gave him a smile that told Yohji he was nervous about something.  
  
Yohji decided to milk it. They probably all knew anyway, and Ran was nowhere in sight. "Hey, Ken-ken." He gave him a wink. "Have a nice sleep?"  
  
"They're gone," Ken broke in.  
  
Yohji lost his smile.  
  
The door opened. Omi raised a hand in greeting. Aya-chan followed him in, looking around nervously. Yohji's eyebrows went higher.   
  
"We're home," Omi announced.  
  
Yohji looked back at Ken to see if that was who he meant. Ken was staring at the door like he expected someone else to come through it.   
  
"Is Ran in the shop?" Yohji asked the general public.  
  
Ken looked nervously around as if he hoped someone else had the answer.   
  
Omi gave them a smile that said he knew absolutely jack squat. "He walked with me some this morning."   
  
Omi turned back to Aya-chan, who was hanging back, but looking at Yohji with a knowing, thoughtful expression. Yohji looked back at her, perplexed. She looked like she had things she wanted to say to him, which made him all sorts of unaccountably nervous. Yohji suddenly wished he had his sunglasses.  
  
Omi continued, "But I wouldn't worry." He was speaking to Aya-chan. "I think he had things he wanted to..." he looked back at Ken and Yohji, then very obviously changed tactics. "He'll be back, I'm sure of it. He's not on shift today anyway, guys. Yohji-kun, will you write us a note for school explaining why we're late?"  
  
Yohji would really, really have liked to know why they were late too, but didn't feel like getting into it with them at the moment. His upbeat mood had swung low. "Yeah, sure, kiddo."  
  
*****  
  
Ran waited until his sister and Omi had left the cemetery before exiting the gift shop he'd hidden in across the street.   
  
He stood on the sidewalk, looking across at the rows of gravestones, and didn't pay attention to the people crossing in front of him and behind him.   
  
Someone finally ran into him, an older man that Ran was shocked to find himself thinking resembled what their father could have looked like, had he gotten old enough. He apologized distractedly as the man waved him off, muttering, and continued on his way.  
  
Ran squared his shoulders, and crossed the street.  
  
His parents' gravestones were like all the others beside them and to the front and back. He gave a low bow and straightened, hands kept by his sides. He felt awkward standing there.   
  
He hadn't really done much of this, he realized. He came to maintain their site, but never just to visit.   
  
_Visit?_ He scoffed at himself. _Visit ghosts?_ There wasn't anyone left there to visit.   
  
His sister, apparently, thought there was.   
  
Ran crouched down, and touched the ground gently between their graves.   
  
"You can rest in peace," he said finally. "I didn't tell you last time. I came with her."  
  
 _You're talking to an empty graveyard._  
  
"I avenged you," he said.   
  
Ran finally noticed the drops of liquid on his hand, drops that were not rain from the blue, cloudless sky, and how his hand was shaking in the grass.  
  
*****


	11. Chapter 11

*****  
  
"So you, you and Aya, eh?" Ken was leaning on the doorframe of the Koneko, watching Yohji clean up after a couple busy shifts. His soccer ball was no where to be seen, for once.   
  
Yohji raised an eyebrow and smirked, carrying the last vase back into the storeroom. When he'd returned, Ken had pulled down the grate, probably the only few seconds of work he'd done that day.   
  
Yohji shook out a cigarette and leaned on the counter. He was happy enough to have the comforting weight of his sunglasses on his head again, in case he needed them. "Ran," he corrected finally.   
  
"What?" Ken's eyebrows raised, then he let out a guffaw. "So it's true!"  
  
"Yeah, and I'm not sleeping with his sister, and Omi is sure as hell not making moon-eyes at him, so make an effort, okay, Ken-ken?" He lit the cigarette and took a drag. He gave the soccer player a smile to take the bite off his words - it wasn't Ken he was pissed at for staying away from the shop for going on five hours.  
  
Ken shrugged, then sobered. "Can't keep from thinking 'Aya' though. Seems weird to start calling him something else."  
  
Yohji shrugged one shoulder transferred his weight to one elbow. "It's his name."  
  
Ken snorted. "Whipped already."  
  
Yohji took the sunglasses off his head and inspected the lenses casually. Generally to be whipped, one had to be in a relationship. And not the kinky kind of 'whipped'. He wanted none of that, especially not with Ran, who'd probably kill him.   
  
"I can't believe he slept with you," Ken commented, his mouth obviously operating independently of his brain, per usual. He held up his hands quickly. "No offense, but come on, it's Ay-Ran. It's his choice, but you had better be careful, Yohji."  
  
"Seriously, Ken, is there something I don't know about here, between you and him?" Yohji narrowed his eyes. Ken was being weirdly protective of someone he butted heads with more often than not.   
  
Ken laughed, then shook his head vigorously. "What, Aya? Mr. mile-wide-chip-on-the-shoulder? Hell no. He's just..." He sobered up, quickly. "We talked about this, man. He hasn't been looking great lately."  
  
And Ken, it seemed, was afraid Yohji would break him.   
  
"Not a problem, Ken-ken. Ran can handle himself." Yohji placed the sunglasses over his eyes.   
  
_Why does it always surprise you when people actually don't see right through you?_ Yohji mentally rolled his eyes at himself. He had a skill, that was for sure. At coming off as what was apparently a whorish, lazy, inconsiderate ass.   
  
The back door opened and shut.   
  
"We're home!" Omi and Aya-chan walked through the door, hand-in-hand. They both looked happier than Yohji had seen them in a while.  
  
He gave them a knowing smile. "Hey, kiddos. Welcome back. Good day?"  
  
Ken interrupted them by walking through their congregation with a big grin, waving a hand. "I have a date, so don't stay up for me, 'kay? Suckers." He breezed out the door.   
  
Yohji shot the empty doorway a grin of his own. "Looks like your little plans to improve my love life benefitted someone."   
  
Omi coughed delicately while Aya-chan studied the sink.   
  
"About that," Omi started.  
  
Yohji waved the hand with his cigarette, took a look at Ran's sister, then stubbed it out on the counter and threw it away. "Don't worry about it. But don't do it again, either. Next time Ran has the bright idea to spy on the two of you I'll make him do it himself, deal?"  
  
Both teens nodded solemnly at him.   
  
Yohji hoped he could keep that promise. He'd probably be doing anything Ran asked him to, given the chance.  
  
"So," he added casually, "Speaking of your brother..."  
  
Aya-chan regarded him with that same eerily thoughtful expression she'd given him earlier. He was glad to have his shades on for it this time. "He called and said he wouldn't be back until later."  
  
Yohji's eyes widened behind the screens. He forced an easy smile. "Going out clubbing, again, is he?"  
  
He got Omi to grin, at least.  
  
Aya-chan only gave him a small smile.   
  
Silently, Yohji cursed.   
  
His sister didn't seem to be worried, but what did she know? If it didn't have to do with Yohji, he would have just called the shop. Made more sense than bothering his sister at school.   
  
So last night was probably the only night. For the moment, it only produced a dull ache.   
  
It's not like he wasn't expecting that.  
  
"Yohji-kun, he probably has a lot to think about," Omi piped up.  
  
 _Things to reconsider,_ Yohji added to himself. _And hopefully his own life isn't one of them, with or without me in it._  
  
Yohji shot them both a grin. "You kids probably have things to do. Don't let me keep you. Shoo." He motioned for them to head off up the stairs. "Go make out or something, I won't tell Ran when he gets back."  
  
Omi and Aya-chan both blushed to their ears. Yohji gave them a mischievous wink.  
  
They shared a look, then fled.   
  
Alone in the shop, Yohji hunched over the counter, putting his head in his arms.  
  
 _God, Ran, don't show me what it's like and then shut the door._  
  
It was his fault. His damned mouth. His inability to not say what he felt. He was doing just fine when the other man didn't know.   
  
And now that Ran did, he knew what to cut himself off from.  
  
A headache was forming behind Yohji's left temple. He went to the kitchen to position himself at the kitchen table.   
  
The irony of the situation didn't escape him. Ran had said he'd done this very thing, waiting for Yohji to come home late at night.  
  
 _So now it's my turn to haunt my own ghosts._  
  
Yohji pulled out another cigarette, and closed his eyes.  
  
*****  
  
"Hey, man, you okay?" Jun purposefully ran into Ken's shoulder with his own, bounding up beside him as he approached the restaurant where they were supposed to meet.  
  
Ken immediately grinned. "Yeah. Hey, good to see you."   
  
"Yeah, back at you." The blonde was regarding him with an easy smirk. It kinda reminded him of Yohji's.   
  
_Hoo boy, let's not go there._ Last thing he needed was to relate Jun with anyone in the Koneko. Ken rolled his eyes without thinking, then gave Jun a guilty look as he mock-glared at Ken.  
  
"Seriously. What's up? You go all googly-eyed at the waiters and embarrass me there's going to be consequences, you know." Jun stated as they came up to the glass doors.   
  
Ken smiled easily back, with a slight blush, because he didn't think he'd mind 'consequences' and was simultaneously horrified he'd thought something that dirty right off the bat. "Housemates are being pains in the ass." He said finally. "Yohji - you know, that guy you were supposed to date instead of me? Aw, man. I don't even think I can say it. Nevermind."  
  
He frowned for a moment, then realized he was feeling jealous, of all things, of his teammates, because they could say something like _'I'm afraid my assassing teammate will try to kill my other assassin teammate because they're both borderline suicidal and one is pretty screwed in the head when it comes to even talking to another human, god forbid sleeping with one.'_ They could say it, and even Aya-chan would get it. Because they all knew the two oldest Weiss enough to guess that the two of them getting together was like two freight trains heading on a collision course.  
  
At least, Ken thought they should know. It made him more stressed out that he was the only one who seemed to think so.  
  
Anyhow, the point was, say something like the truth to someone like Jun, and he'd be lucky to get away with a restraining order.  
  
Sometimes his life made him freaking depressed.  
  
Suddenly, Jun's thumb found the area between shoulder blade and spine, and Ken was leaning into his touch as they walked, even despite the look the maître d' was sending them.   
  
On the other hand, he didn't have to be worried about getting killed by Aya, either because he had a perpetual and soon to be re-unrequited hard-on for the man or his little sister.   
  
Plus, Jun gave a hell of a backrub, and that was just with one thumb. And, Jun actually understood his passion for soccer. It had been a really, really long time since Ken had someone to throw things at the television with during games.  
  
He grinned again. "But it doesn't really matter. Man, I'm starving."  
  
Jun grinned back, and thankfully, let his unanswered questions go. "Good. 'cause I heard, this place has food."  
  
*****  
  
Yohji was giving the cupboards where his alcohol was stashed a baleful look.  
  
He had no idea how Ran had done it. He didn't know how often, but he knew that Ran, by his own admission, had stayed up just like this waiting for Yohji to come home. Hopefully that was a lot later than Yohji was going to have to wait for him.   
  
He still couldn't believe it. It sounded like a lie, even when it fell from Ran's own lips and his sister had confirmed it.   
  
_So why is it so hard?_  
  
Yohji was intoxicated just by standing across the room from the other assassin. He liked watching him doing simple things, like breathe. Ran had watched out for him and had let him touch him, and that wasn't just some pat on the shoulder they'd shared last night. How could it be so clear to him that they were given to each other, while Ran apparently still was running away from the choices only he saw? There were no choices. None. Just a solid path toward a little patch of peace in the turmoil of their lives.   
  
He was being poetic, Yohji noticed, and it depressed him, because it meant he was far too sober and far too alone if he had the time to come up with those things and still had no one to say them to.  
  
Yohji suddenly winced, recalling just how he'd been most of those late nights that Ran had been watching him. The whole point of going out late was so no one would have to see him like that. It just figured the one person he _really_ didn't want seeing him like that was the only one who had. Unless Aya-chan had been watching him as well as her brother, and that was worse.  
  
God, they were a bunch of spies. Maybe they should just screw assassin-dom and just start up another detective agency.  
  
 _And repeat your past with a new partner? Good one, Kudoh. Even your fantasies are idiotic._  
  
Somehow, it made sense to him that being a detective was far more hazardous than being an assassin.   
  
Yeah, he was operating on a little less than all cylinders.  
  
His thoughts were not really good company. Yohji tried some zen, attempting to clear his mind, and stared across the kitchen table at the boarded-up window above the sink.  
  
He never had found out how that happened.   
  
He'd been a little preoccupied.  
  
He looked down at his watch. It was approaching 6 p.m. Pretty early, hardly even after working hours for most people.   
  
But Ran didn't have a hospital to go to anymore, and the one person he'd be occupied with was doing things with Omi upstairs he'd rather not think about.  
  
"Uhm..." The quiet interjection from behind Yohji was indisputably Aya-chan's voice.   
  
He slid a gentle smile into place before pivoting in his chair to face her. Aya-chan was alone, standing by the doorway. She moved across the room to stand by the table at his glance. "Hey. You kids getting hungry? We can order some take-out, my treat."  
  
It would give him some company, at the least.  
  
Aya-chan smiled but shook her head, making her dark hair bounce slightly. Those Fujimiyas really had some good genetics, in Yohji's opinion. He preferred Ran's vibrant, almost unnatural red, of course, but both siblings were beautiful in their own right. "No, thank you, Yohji-kun."  
  
Yohji shrugged. "A pizza may or may not show up anyway, don't feel bad eating it if it does." He grinned at her with a wink.   
  
She gave him a little nod, but was biting her lip. "Yohji-kun..."   
  
She seemed to be struggling with something. Yohji suddenly wished he wasn't about to hear whatever it was she had to say. Another warning from another Koneko resident to stay away from her brother? A notice that he wasn't going to return, delivered from her neutrally sweet lips?  
  
"I'm worried about my brother. He said he might be back late, but...but I think..." She took in a breath.   
  
Yohji let one out in relief. That wasn't anything bad. Worrisome, if she was worried, but not anything personally to do with Yohji. He could deal with that.   
  
Aya-chan continued, with her eyes large and serious. "I think he's had enough of being alone, Yohji-kun. I think both you and and I can decide that for him now, whether or not he wants us to. And I think I know where he went."  
  
Yohji was out of his chair before her last sentence was completed.   
  
She told him her suspicions, and gave him a quick hug before turning and running upstairs.  
  
Yohji was out the door in the next second.  
  
*****  
  
Yohji wasn't sure what he was expecting Aya-chan to have told him, but the cemetery he was looking at was probably the last place he would have expected his friend and teammate to be. Another cemetery, where the man's own name was inscribed on a gravestone, possibly. But the gravesite of his parents seemed to acknowledge his childhood in a way that Ran didn't seem apt to do, at least not in so blatant a manner. He had always been about honor and revenge, that was true, and definitely linked with his past - but there was something about him visiting his dead parents that unsettled Yohji.  
  
Ran - _Aya_ \- was full of surprises these days.  
  
Assuming he was there. Which he did, because the Fujimiya siblings seemed to be uncannily tuned to one another.  
  
Yohji peered into the blackness. The sun had set, and clouds were moving in again, and the streetlamps were few and far between in this section of town. There was one figure in the midst of the rows of gravestones, eerily still, sitting with his legs tucked under him, shadowed and nondescript in the night.  
  
It was nevertheless recognizable as Ran.  
  
A sharp, sick pain lanced its way through Yohji's chest at the scene.  
  
 _Still waiting at bedsides, Ayan._   
  
Yohji swallowed heavily around the sudden lump in his throat.   
  
He felt like he was intruding.  
  
He felt like he should have intruded a hell of a lot sooner. How long had the other man been there? What was going through his head? Yohji passed a hand over his face, grinding his palm into his eyes and steeling himself for whatever the coming confrontation was going to bring. He had a suspicion that Ran was not going to be thrilled at seeing him there, stalking him.  
  
He drew in a shaky breath, and observed the image before him for another moment.   
  
Yeah, Ran was really sitting by himself, at night, in the middle of a graveyard.  
  
Yohji crossed the road and began his walk through the somber rows of dead. He attempted to make as much noise as possible. Eliminating the chance of a surprised Ran skewering him was top priority.  
  
"You sister told me where to find you," Yohji called.  
  
Ran was on his feet and whirling into a defensive crouch before the last word was out of Yohji's mouth.   
  
Yohji held up both hands immediately, his fingers spread wide. "It's me, Ayan. Just everyone's favorite Yohji Kudoh." He gave a low, humorless chuckle. "Not a ghost."  
  
He approached slowly as the other man straightened.  
  
It was like a sucker punch to see Ran's face.   
  
He'd never seen the man look younger.  
  
He'd only seen Ran look like he'd been crying that much twice.  
  
It surprised him that Ran was neither clenching his fists, or changing that vulnerable expression to something more protected. He blinked owlishly at Yohji, as he worked his way around the final gravestones to stand a couple feet in front of Ran.  
  
"My sister?" Ran's voice was quiet, and only came after a very long silence.  
  
Yohji nodded. "She sent me. I mean, I wanted to come, I was waiting at home for you, yanno." He gave Ran a lopsided smile. "You worried her. You've been gone a long time."  
  
Another long silence. "Yes," Ran finally breathed.  
  
It might have been Yohji's imagination, but he suspected there was more meaning to that single syllable than he was able to interpret.   
  
Yohji hitched a thumb in the waistband of his jeans, brushing his long coat to the side of his hip to do so. "Mind if I pay my respects?"   
  
Yohji forgot to breathe for a moment, the question was too full of importance and he wished immediately that he hadn't asked.  
  
But Ran gave a short nod.  
  
Yohji turned to the graves of Mama and Papa Fujimiya, and gave them each a low, respectful bow.   
  
_Sorry it's me your son's gonna end up with,_ Because there was no way Yohji was letting the redhead go now without a serious fight. He could be a bastard all he wanted; Yohji wasn't going to believe it was a result of anything but pain ever again. And he wasn't going to let Ran get away with lying to him about not wanting Yohji back, either. No one could fake their way through what they'd done last night, and be willing to spend the night on a cement rooftop on top of a thin, bloodsoaked coat for anything other than love. He just had to get Ran to see that it mattered. _But I'm gonna do my best to take care of him. So you rest in peace._  
  
A breeze whispered through the graveyard. It sent goosebumps over his bare stomach and up his arms.  
  
Ran was watching him, his violet eyes open and thoughtful but still completely unreadable.   
  
Yohji held out a hand and jerked his head toward the road. "There's somewhere we can go. If you're ready."  
  
A deep tension left Yohji's shoulders as Ran's cold, calloused fingers settled against his own. He let out the worried breath he'd forgotten to stop holding minutes ago.   
  
Ran let his hand go again to give his own sets of bows. He stood with his back to Yohji for a moment, head bowed, then turned. His eyes brushed Yohji's again, holding a question in them Ran never voiced.  
  
Yohji relaxed into an easy, real smile. He knew Ran would be able to tell it was genuine; it didn't hurt at all to give it.   
  
"I'll go," Ran replied. He followed Yohji through the rows of graves back to the street, and his waiting car.   
  
*****


	12. Chapter 12

  
*****  
  
Yohji's car purred noisily through the busy twilight of Tokyo. They were far from alone, it was rush hour and the streets were packed with commuters and pedestrians.  
  
Ran sat with his back straight in the passenger seat, watching the sidewalk and the rear bumpers of the slow-moving vehicles in front of them.  
  
A hand landed on his leg and squeezed, letting go quickly.  
  
Yohji shot him a smile as they pulled up to a stoplight. His sunglasses were in place, even though Ran would like to tear them off so he could see what Yohji was feeling. Safety aside - he wasn't entirely sure Yohji could see well enough to drive in them, despite evidence to the contrary.  
  
He wasn't entirely sure he cared about that.  
  
"Hey, I'm not taking you anywhere awful," Yohji commented. His fingers were tapping on the wheel. "Relax. You're making me nervous you're gonna jump out the door or something."   
  
His smile was a little pained. Ran slouched into his seat, and took to watching Yohji's face instead of the world outside the car.  
  
The man had come to his parents' gravesite to collect him for this outing? Did that make sense? No, he'd said that his sister was worried about him. Yohji himself had seemed worried for him, he supposed they had all worried for one member of Weiss or another but this was different, this was personal worry, and Ran was completely unused to it from a source that was neither family nor employer.   
  
He'd given his parents both a low bow.  
  
Like family.  
  
 _Like a proper suitor._  
  
Did that fit with Yohji's character? Ran supposed it must, the blonde had done it.  
  
They pulled away from the stoplight. Yohji turned onto a side road, picking up speed with his car as the traffic lessened. Wind from their open windows blew shafts of red into Ran's vision and tousled Yohji's wavy hair.  
  
Suddenly, Yohji parked his car, tearing up next to the curb abruptly. He was smiling faintly; they both enjoyed driving, Ran could understand it, and Yohji's pride and joy was the Seven.  
  
Yohji must have seen something in his expression. His smile turned into a wide grin. "Yeah, I was showing off for you, Ran-Ayan. Did it work?"  
  
He got out of the car before Ran could answer. Yohji walked around the car to the sidewalk, Ran was glad he didn't do something idiotic like open his door.  
  
Behind his teammate was a coffee house that had looked like it belonged in a girl's dollhouse. The outside looked as if it had seen gang wars, but through the window he could see the inside painted in pastels.  
  
Ran realized where Yohji had taken him. He got out of the car, Yohji locked it.  
  
"Here?" He asked, scanning Yohji's face.  
  
Yohji pushed back his sunglasses to catch in his hair at the top of his head. His green eyes were serious. "I saw a bit of your past today. Thought it was fair." He was scrutinizing Ran's face, though Ran couldn't have guessed what he was looking for.   
  
This sidewalk was deserted of people. A sign on the door claimed the shop was 24-hours, though he couldn't help wondering how it kept open - there was only one customer he could see inside.   
  
Ran shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, beneath his long tan jacket.   
  
Yohji hooked a thumb in the waist of his jeans, pulling them down to reveal the toned junction of stomach and hip. Ran _saw_ him try to make this nonchalant. "Care for a cup of coffee?"  
  
Instead of answering, Ran took out his cellphone and dialed his sister. After the briefest of notices they'd be back late and he had put away the phone, he gave Yohji a look.   
  
The other man's face relaxed. He headed inside, Ran followed.   
  
Yohji gave the customer by the door a nod. "Mrs. Kanno."  
  
"You again! You'd think someone like you would have something better to do than buy this mud-in-a-cup every other night." The woman was more elderly than Ran first suspected, lines around her eyes belying the youth of the summer dress she wore.   
  
"Best coffee in town, hag!" A middle-aged woman in a waitress' apron and dress gave Mrs. Kanno a smile despite her words. "Yohji! Long time no see. Been a few nights now, but I see what you've been up to." She gave Ran a smile.  
  
Ran gave her a small smile back, though inside he gave himself a long-suffering sigh. If Yohji was a regular here, however, he was going to make an effort.   
  
"Hasn't been anyone since that..." The waitress started.  
  
Yohji waved a hand at her, though not before Ran caught his wince. "Yeah, yeah, old news, old news. Chikako, this is Ran, Ran, Chikako."  
  
Chikako had already poured two cups of coffee despite Ran not actually wanting any, and the woman followed them to where Yohji chose their seat by the window. "He sits here everytime, did you know that, Ran, honey?" She put their coffee down. "Glad to see a new face with him, to be honest."  
  
"Okay, okay." Yohji was doing his best not to scowl. Ran watched in actual amusement.   
  
Chikako winked at him. "I know, honey." Her tone softened. "I'll leave you two alone, be in the back if you need me or need any help chasing off robbers or the like." She laughed and disappeared into a back room.   
  
By the door, Mrs. Kanno stood. "Time for me to go home to Mr. Kanno, I think, dears." Yohji waved goodbye to her and looked visibly relieved when she left the shop and they were finally left alone.  
  
Yohji gave him a small smile. "Not exactly clubbing every night," he commented.  
  
"Every night," Ran responded.  
  
Yohji shrugged. "I do have my reputation, yanno." He frowned, then replaced it with a wink and a half-grin. He took his sunglasses off his head and played with them a moment before setting them down on the table. He lost his smile too quickly, his eyes unfocusing and darkening to emerald.   
  
"This was our place," he said finally. "Asuka's and mine. I guess we had a lot of them, not just this one, but..."  
  
"Why did you bring me here?" Ran cut him off.   
  
He was sorry for the question. Yohji looked as if he'd been slapped, but his jawline hardened a moment later, with a stubborn set to his mouth. He continued like Ran hadn't said anything. "I feel her here still sometimes. I guess I get carried away too much, but god, Ran-" he dragged a hand across his face. He let out a sudden bark of laughter. "I really thought you were her, back in the Koneko on those nights. I guess I spend so much time haunting her I get confused, she has better things to do than follow me around."   
  
"It wasn't her you thought I was," Ran contradicted. "It was Schrient."  
  
Again, his words elicited a wince, this one changed immediately into a scowl. "Same woman," Yohji muttered. He took a sip of his coffee, and stared out the window.   
  
Ran bit back a sigh. He narrowed his eyes at Yohji.   
  
"They're both dead," he said harshly.  
  
Yohji met his eyes and held the gaze steadily. "Yeah." He passed a hand through his hair again. He bent over his coffee cup and blew on it before taking another sip.   
  
Ran didn't know why it bothered him so much that Yohji would not let go of either woman, the one who deserved to die without any guilt felt and the other one, the one whose death was not Yohji's fault. By Ran's assessment, it was a mix of survivor's guilt and regret, but then again, he had never had felt any sort of the love that Yohji proclaimed over his dead partner.   
  
_Haven't you?_ Ran looked back at Yohji's gaze, and briefly saw an ocean.  
  
Yohji reached across the table and caught his hand before he could hide it in his lap. "This place just has a lot of memories. I'm not trying to make you a replacement, I just wanted you to see-" Yohji visibly took in a breath and blew it out. "I guess I just wanted you to see where I was, when you were up haunting me. Most of the time. There's a club down the street I go to when- I guess I was just hoping you'd chase my ghosts away for me."   
  
The line would have been cheesy and dramatic had Yohji not had the expression of absolute misery he'd worn as he said it.   
  
Yohji released his hand and reached into his pocket. He took out a cigarette but didn't light it, fiddling with it between thumb and forefinger.   
  
Ran realized that he was watching Yohji for the first time with all of his guards down.   
  
He supposed he'd known, but it was very easy to forget with the gregarious man that Yohji had as many walls as he did. They were just better disguised.   
  
Yohji shot him a weak smile. "Thanks for humoring me."  
  
"I didn't leave this morning to escape from you," Ran stated suddenly.  
  
Yohji's eyes widened and his hand stilled. "No?" It was cautious.  
  
Ran took a deep breath. He closed his eyes briefly.  
  
He hadn't wanted any attachments. No more people to lose. No more responsibilities. No more pain.  
  
Yohji was teaching him that who you became attached to wasn't a choice.  
  
He let out the kept breath slowly. His voice was low. "Yohji. When Eszett fell...something you said the other day, before Omi interrupted us, it sounded..." He glared at the coffee cup for the moment, as if it were to blame for his feelings. He closed his eyes again, then looked up at Yohji. "...similar...what were you going to say?"  
  
Yohji leaned forward. "Since you asked, you better be willing to hear my answer." Yohji's eyes locked on his. Ran gave a short nod. Yohji nodded as well, but it seemed more to himself than to Ran. He refocused before continuing. "I should have been happy that I was about to join Asuka. But fuck it, I was terrified. It made no sense to me. All I could think of was you. How I was going to lose you, and there were a lot of ways to do that at the time, and -" Yohji's fingers were shaking. The cigarette bobbed against the tabletop. "That wasn't something I was planning on. The attraction, yeah, that's always been there, but I thought I could do without it, I never took it serously...I promised myself I wasn't gonna-I didn't mean to tell you, yanno? So please, don't go back on this. Not now. Not after showing me-"  
  
"Stop," Ran commanded.  
  
Yohji's grief over something he hadn't yet done was alarming. As every indication he had any sort of power over the older man was.  
  
Yohji leaned back in his chair. His eyes were patiently trained on Ran's face.  
  
Ran couldn't find the words to say what he'd meant to.   
  
He got up suddenly, pushing his chair back. Yohji sat up straight, eyes wide. "Ran?"  
  
"Why did you bring me here?" He asked.   
  
Yohji's hand was shaking harder on the table. He observed it with an impassive face, although it struck him deep in the middle of his chest. "Shit. I guess, I guess if this is gonna end, if you're gonna end it, I guess here was the best place for me to hear it. Keep all my - keep it all in one place, yanno."  
  
Quick and sure, Ran suddenly reached out and grabbed Yohji's wrist, yanking him to his feet. He had him bent backwards in the next second, wrist pinned to the table. The cigarette dropped from his fingers and rolled to the floor. Yohji struggled for a second, instinctively, before pushing upward with his hips.   
  
Ran took a glance outside the window behind Yohji's head. A mother and daughter passed, neither looked at them.   
  
Ran smiled then, and it wasn't vicious or fierce. He pressed back into Yohji's body.   
  
"I have no intention of adding myself to your ghosts," Ran stated. "Not by choice."  
  
Yohji was quiet for a second, mouth parted, chest still. His eyes raked over Ran's face.   
  
And suddenly, all his breath was let out in a gasp of laughter. His free hand snapped out to grab Ran's ass, pulled him forward into him. Ran pushed forward, the table scraped back until it hit the window. Yohji's hand slid up around the back of his head, burying into the roots of his hair, and brought him down into an urgent kiss.  
  
"The bathroom," Yohji suggested against his lips.  
  
Ran stepped back.  
  
Yohji stumbled to his feet and yanked him to the side hallway in the back of the little shop, pulling him through the door of the only bathroom and locking the door. It was cramped, they had barely enough room to move, there was frilly lace above the mirror and chipped pink paint on the doorframe, everything else was plain wood. Yohji managed to spin him around and press him back against the door, making it rattle on its hinges. He made quick work of Ran's belt, popping open the top button of his jeans.   
  
Ran shoved him backwards with the weight of one shoulder. Yohji caught himself on the sink. Ran stepped forward and ubuckled Yohji's belt, feeling his intense stare on him the whole while. He slipped a hand under Yohji's coat and under the back of Yohji's midriff-baring shirt, his other hand slid into the open zipper of Yohji's pants.   
  
Yohji bucked forward, a small breath hitching. Ran yanked jeans and boxers down, raking his gaze across Yohji's body.   
  
Yohji grinned ferally, and let him.  
  
With a small growl, Ran flipped their positions, shoving Yohji up against the door. He shoved his own jeans and briefs down and stepped forward to press himself flush against Yohji.   
  
Yohji bent down and pressed his mouth to Ran's. It was strangely tender in contrast to the rest of their movements.   
  
Ran stilled for a moment. Finally, they broke away, each breathing quick and shallow.   
  
Ran searched Yohji's eyes. Yohji gave him a simple smile that was at once gentle and confident.   
  
Ran thrust a hand between their bodies, taking both of their hard-ons in his fist. He gave them three solid pumps that made his head hit Yohji's shoulder. He felt the blonde shudder against him, then replace his hand on his cock. Yohji bent down to press a kiss that turned stronger onto his neck as their hands began to move.  
  
Ran's fist jerked over Yohji's length, relishing the way the man's body responded to him. Suddenly he bucked forward as Yohji's thrusts became more urgent, shoving their bodies together as his fingers moved over Ran.   
  
Ran muffled the yell into Yohji's neck as he came. Yohji's arm tightened around his back, the man's breathing quick and hot against his ear. Suddenly Yohji doubled into him, fingers digging into his muscles. Yohji managed to be quieter, the only sound he made was Ran's own name, hissed into his ear.   
  
They remained upright but slouched against each other, their stomachs slick and heartbeats erratic. Ran remained with his forehead touching Yohji's shoulder. Yohji's grip lessened, his hand smoothing along the contours of Ran's shoulderblades.  
  
"Fuck," Yohji finally said.   
  
Ran turned his head until his lips touched Yohji's ear.   
  
He couldn't quite bring himself to say the claim he felt.   
  
_Yohji feels right._ In every way, he felt right.   
  
Ran pushed back from Yohji silently, using water from the sink to clean his stomach. He turned back to find Yohji still watching him.   
  
He might not be able to say all he felt, but he needed to give Yohji something. The truth, even in watered-down form. "I said earlier what you said sounded similar." Yohji's eyes widened; it was possible the man expected him to give him nothing at all. "To what I felt, Yohji. That's what I meant. I was thinking of my sister, yes, but there were moments that I thought I was dying in that water and I thought of you." Ran frowned, remembering. "I thought of you with regret when I was dying, Yohji."  
  
Yohji looked completely shocked.   
  
Ran gave him the barest of smiles. "We need to leave."  
  
Yohji stumbled away from the door and copied Ran's actions, wiping his stomach and pulling up his clothing. The expression of disbelief was still lingering on his face, the blond looked shell-shocked. He pulled Ran forward into another kiss before unlatching the door and tugging him back out into the hallway.  
  
Chikako was standing there to meet them. She held a rolling pin in one hand, like a bat. She lowered it as she looked at them both, one eyebrow rising higher than it should have been able. "I came to see if someone was getting mugged in there." Her voice was monotone.  
  
Yohji coughed, and one hand went behind his head. "Uh. Chikako. Babe. I-"  
  
"Save it." Chikako suddenly snorted.   
  
"This place means a lot to me..." Yohji began. "Please..."  
  
"God, boys, you could have at least let me watch." Chikako rolled her eyes.   
  
Ran relaxed. Yohji coughed.   
  
Chikako narrowed her eyes. "Not like this place hasn't seen worse. Don't do that again, you're gonna be mopping my floors. Get the hell outta here, and I better see you both back within a week."  
  
Ran's eyebrows raised. Yohji took off across the shop, with one hand lifted. Ran followed.   
  
"Will do. You're the absolute best, Chi. Oh my god, that woman is never gonna let me live that down. Didn't think she'd come check." The last part was muttered under Yohji's breath, but Ran caught it and stifled a smile.  
  
In a moment, Yohji had Seven rumbling to life.   
  
Simultaneous beeps came from both Yohji's and Ran's coats. Ran took out his cellphone and frowned. "Omi. Mission."  
  
"Great," Yohji hung a hand out the open window, and sped up down the empty street toward the highway that would bring them back to the Koneko.  
  
*****


	13. Chapter 13

*****  
  
"This is just because you're dating her." Ken exploded. "No one's had to stay home to babysit before, this is ridiculous."  
  
"Ken-kun, it's not like that!" Omi pleaded. "Just trust me on this."  
  
"You're being overprotective, and insane, and like, like Ran!" Ken snapped. "And insane."  
  
Omi winced. "It's really not like that, Ken-kun. Really."  
  
"Then what is it like, Omi? You think I can't do my job as well as Ran or Yohji? Or you? Huh?" Ken snarled.  
  
"Are you so eager to kill people, Ken-kun?" Omi's voice turned sad, and this time, it was Ken's turn to wince.  
  
"No," he muttered back, lamely. Because that wasn't it. He just didn't like being told he had to stay home like a puppy.   
  
The door upstairs opened, hurried footsteps out of sync with one another sounded on the stairs. Ran appeared first, Yohji close behind.  
  
"Mission?" Ran asked shortly.  
  
Ken flailed his arms at them. "Yes. And someone is benching me! This is ridiculous! Ran, tell Omi no one has to stay behind to babysit your sister."  
  
Ken watched Yohji visibly wince behind Ran. Okay, so maybe he wasn't the person to have brought that up with...  
  
Ran raised an eyebrow, however. He looked over Ken's shoulder at what he assumed was Omi. Ken put his hands on his hips.   
  
"That true, chibi?" Yohji asked.   
  
"If only three people are needed?" Ran asked finally.  
  
"Yes," Omi said, a tad too quickly. Ken turned to observe Omi. He wasn't unwilling to rule out the possibility that aliens had gotten to his friend, because he was looking guilty on top of insane.  
  
Ran crossed the room. He took the mission file from Omi's fingers - Ken had been involved in a game of keepaway with that same damned file for the past half-hour. Omi's eyes shifted from Ken to Ran and back again.  
  
"Omi won't even tell me who the target is," Ken complained. "It's bullshit."  
  
Ran snapped the file shut and handed it back to Omi.  
  
"Ran-kun-" Omi started.  
  
"It's your boyfriend's father." Ran stated flatly. He crossed the room and took a post on the wall next to Yohji, who was still hovering by the stairs.  
  
"Shit, Ken," Yohji said.  
  
"Ran-kun!" Omi snapped. "He shouldn't have to, I've been trying not to!" He let out a long-suffering sigh, then a very quiet, "I'm sorry, Ken-kun. But really. Only three people are needed for this, seriously, and I think all of us will understand if..."  
  
Ken cocked his head to one side and replayed the last few moments in his head.   
  
_Omi looking guilty.  
  
Yohji looking like he'd been punched.  
  
No, between those two things... Ran saying...holy fuck._  
  
Ken sat down heavily on the couch.   
  
He was pretty sure that killing someone's parent topped the list of reasons to break up with a person.  
  
He slapped a hand over his face and groaned.   
  
"Ken-kun, you don't have to-" Omi started.  
  
"You shoulda just told me, man!" Ken growled, and rubbed at his eyes. It wasn't helping change the scenery any.  
  
"Ken-ken, we got this," Yohji said, his voice falsely cheerful. "You don't even gotta be involved. Just be supportive, yanno, when..."  
  
"Yohji..." Ran's voice sounded like it thought Yohji was the idiot that Ken did.  
  
"Maybe Kritiker fucked up," Ken suggested through his fingers. "What the hell'd he do?"  
  
"Human trafficking," Omi said immediately. "Of young boys. It checks out. It looks like he's a genuine target, Ken-kun, I'm sorry. But at least it's not..." Omi's voice broke off. "Anyway, did Jun tell you? His dad's apparently rich. Very, very rich. And he donates money to all sorts of political and law enforcement organizations...it sounds like they all appreciate the money too much to bother investigating such a generous donor..."  
  
Ken peered between his fingers. Omi looked dismayed. "Yeah, yeah, it's okay. At least it's not Jun himself, that what you were gonna say? Not like he...I mean, how...I'll know, even if he doesn't! Oh my god! He'll be like, want to go to dinner? I'll be like, yeah, how was your weekend? Mine was fine, killed your dad Saturday, did you notice he was missing?" Ken dropped his head between his knees and stared at the floor. Someone should really vacuum, he noted, because there were all sorts of food crumbs down between the fibers.  
  
He righted himself again and flung his arms over the back of the couch. "But I'm Weiss, right? If I can't do this, well, I'll still _know_ , so I guess it's just not all peachy keen for me, but who was I kidding anyway, huh?"  
  
"Ken!" Yohji looked shocked. He walked the rest of the way into the room and leaned over the couch to peer at his face. "This isn't something you have to do, we'll get it."  
  
Ken didn't meet Yohji's eyes. "He's not Weiss anyway, right? So it wouldn't have worked. Just nevermind, ok? I said I got this. Omi's said the mission's tonight, hope that doesn't interfere with any of your dates..." So the last part came off as a bit bitter. Whatever.  
  
"No worries, Ken-ken." Yohji for once didn't tease. He jumped over and landed butt-first on the couch, sprawling out. "Tell us the dirt, chibi."  
  
Omi launched into details.  
  
Ken tried to ignore the roiling in his gut.  
  
*****  
  
"Ran!" Aya-chan leapt off her bed and enveloped her brother in a hug when he knocked and pushed open the door to her room. "I was so worried! You didn't say where you went!"  
  
She'd heard them come back earlier, but had tried to be patient. She'd heard Omi and Ken arguing downstairs and hadn't wanted to get caught in the middle of it.  
  
Ran hugged her back, his eartails tickling her neck. She let go and stepped back to look at his face. He had a weird expression on his face. "What is it?" She asked immediately.  
  
Ran mustered a small smile for her. "Yohji found me."  
  
She nodded at him. That meant she had been right; he'd gone to their parents' gravesite.  
  
"And?" She asked. Her eyes scanned his face; it didn't show much.  
  
"I think we're dating, Aya."  
  
He said it so seriously, it made her giggle a little. Ran's eyebrow raised, his lips twitched.   
  
"You think?" She teased. "Shouldn't you know?"  
  
"We're dating," he said, and sounded more sure about it.  
  
"I knew it!" She squealed. "I knew you liked him!"  
  
Ran looked pained. Aya-chan grinned at him.   
  
He paused, then gave her a small, serious nod. A second later a smile escaped onto his face though, and she matched it. She took his hands. "I really like Yohji-kun." She gave a little excited hop despite herself. "Ran! Is he your first boyfriend? Or, when I was...?"  
  
Ran scowled at her. She giggled. "You're a brat," he muttered.  
  
She stuck out her tongue at him. "Well?"  
  
Ran shook his head at her. She couldn't tell if it was an answer or because he was frustrated at being asked.  
  
After a moment of looking adorably awkward, a small frown creased his brow. "Aya-chan. We have a mission tonight. I don't want you to wait up, though, for either Omi or for me. We'll be okay."  
  
Her face fell. She looked at the floor.   
  
A mission...as always, that meant, 'we're going to kill someone.'   
  
But that was okay with her. Those people always did awful things. But they did awful things that maybe they would do to her brother, or to Omi, if they failed...  
  
"Aya-chan?" Ran touched a lock of her hair.   
  
She looked back up at him, then nodded firmly. "Okay, Ran. But, but..." She chewed her lip. "I'm going to wake up anyway, you know." She met his eyes squarely. "So...knock three times! That will mean everyone's okay."  
  
Ran nodded. "Okay."  
  
Aya-chan hugged him.  
  
"You know I'm going to stay up late on a school night watching movies and eating take-out," she commented.  
  
It coaxed a small smile out of her brother. He rolled his eyes, but took out his wallet.  
  
*****  
  
Omi let out a deep breath after finishing the mission briefing, and stared at the now-empty mission room. Ken had kind of stumbled up the stairs, but Omi had faith that if his teammate said he was okay with performing the mission, he'd get it together by the time they had to go. His team was professional, but it wasn't like they were machines. The very thought of being unaffected by news like that made Omi feel a little sick.   
  
But even Ran had seemed to understand letting Ken out of this one, if he'd wanted to.  
  
It made Omi proud of Weiss. They really were family.  
  
He ran up the stairs to find Aya-chan, and tell her that they'd be gone. Her door opened when he reached the top of the stairs, however - he lurked until he heard Ran's footsteps retreat into his own room.  
  
Okay, so maybe it still made him nervous to be dating Ran's sister.   
  
He was really, really afraid of screwing it up for all of them. But maybe especially losing Ran's trust. Well, maybe _especially_ especially losing Aya-chan, but he didn't exactly have to work with her.  
  
After Ran was out of the hallway, he trotted up to the door. It opened unexpectedly, however, and before he had a chance to move he found himself sprawling on the floor with Aya-chan on top of him, beet red.  
  
She scrambled to her feet. "Omi-kun! I'm sorry, I was just coming to find you!"  
  
Omi hopped up, feeling his face burn. He put a hand behind his head and grinned sheepishly. "Ditto."  
  
"Ran says you have a mission?" She whispered it.  
  
Omi nodded. "Don't worry! We'll be all right."  
  
Aya-chan gave him a small smile. "That's what he said, too."  
  
They stood awkwardly facing each other for a moment.  
  
Suddenly Aya-chan moved forward and wrapped Omi in a hug. "Be careful, though, okay? I told Ran to knock three times on my door to let me know everyone's okay when you come back, all right? Otherwise I'm going to worry, and I won't sleep, and..."  
  
Omi hugged her back, hard. "Okay! Please don't worry, Aya-chan..."  
  
There were footsteps down the hallway. They broke apart to find Ken coming through in his mission gear.   
  
"Get a room!" He yelled, rolling his eyes. His face was amused more than anything else, though.  
  
Omi's stomach sank. He tried to imagine having to kill one of Aya-chan's parents, whether or not it was deserved, and felt like throwing up.   
  
"Well..." he said, after Ken had disappeared down the stairs. "I guess I should go get ready."  
  
Aya-chan hugged him again, then surprised him with a kiss.   
  
"Remember to knock!" She demanded. Aya-chan ran back into her room before he could do much of anything.   
  
Omi lingered with a goofy half-smile on his face, then shook himself out of it and went to prepare.  
  
*****  
  
A brief knock on Ran's bedroom door was the only warning he had before it was pushed open. Yohji slid inside and shut it quietly. "Hey."  
  
Ran pulled tight the final buckle on his mission coat and straightened. Yohji was ready for their assignment by the look of things.   
  
"What?" Ran took his katana off its stand on his dresser and turned to face the other man. Yohji's expression was concerned.   
  
"It's not just gonna be business as usual, is it?" Yohji's voice was quiet, and serious.   
  
Ran frowned. "It's...unfortunate for Ken. What else do you mean?"   
  
Yohji crossed the room in two quick, short strides and before Ran had a say in it, was pressing their lips together fervently.  
  
Ran responded despite his alarm. They stumbled until the back of Ran's legs hit his bed. Yohji broke free before Ran. He was scanning Ran's eyes, then nodded. "Okay," he mentioned, like he'd actually asked something.  
  
"You're a complete idiot." Ran stated. He pushed past Yohji. "And this is why you're paired with Omi, me with Ken. Don't be an idiot on the mission."  
  
"After the mission?" Yohji's voice was teasingly hopeful behind him. Ran exited his room; heard the blonde trotting after him. "I'm totally gonna be an idiot with you after the mission."  
  
Ran didn't bother hiding his smile, Yohji wouldn't be able to see it from behind.   
  
*****


	14. Chapter 14

*****  
  
The grounds to the mansion had been silent but for the incessant whirring of cicadas as Weiss approached. It was a clear night, the waxing moon dispersing just enough light to see by. The stillness and beauty of the country setting offered nothing to distract Ken from his burgeoning guilt.   
  
The four assassins had parked Aya's car and Ken's motorcycle down the road in an outcropping of woods, then silently walked the half mile up to where the security gate loomed.   
  
It was a private residence. In Ken's opinion, only real narcissists or someone who had something to hide would have a gate like that.   
  
_You keep telling yourself that, Hidaka. But it's your boyfriend's dad in there. Wait. Boyfriend? Guy you're dating, yeah. It's his dad..._  
  
He felt like hitting his head on something. The only thing that wouldn't require a detour was Ran's head, though, and that wasn't going to clear it so much as remove it from his body.  
  
He kept repeating to himself on the ride over all the points Omi made in his defence. He should really start doing that again.   
  
Jun's father was a real target.  
  
That meant he'd be protecting Jun by offing the asshole.  
  
He was Weiss, and Weiss did their jobs, and he'd be protecting lots of innocents by completing this mission.  
  
 _Damn, I must really like Jun,_ Ken realized with an inward snarl. Omi had overridden the security codes for the gate by that point, and he and Yohji were breaking off to take care of the alarms on the house and to scout the second floor, via the fire escape. Ran walked just slightly behind him, and Ken couldn't help but feel like he was being herded.  
  
"Ken," Ran whispered. "If you're not sure, you can go back and wait."  
  
Ken shot a shocked look over his shoulder. "What? No. Come on, man. I told you, I got this. I'm not gonna let you down."  
  
Ran just gave him an inscrutable look, but didn't slow down.  
  
"We're in," Bombay's voice crackled over the headset. "Clearing the second floor. I'm sorry, guys, it looks like he might be downstairs. There's an open balcony in here, we'll try and give you cover."  
  
"Check," Abyssinian responded.  
  
Ken took in a deep breath as they reached the door and squared his shoulders.  
  
Several things happened when they quietly pushed open the door.  
  
The lights in the previously dark house went on.  
  
Bombay screeched, "Ambush!" It came a second too late through their headsets because yeah, a room full of bodyguards was generally an ambush.  
  
Ken caught sight of the man in the middle of the room, who, for a split second, _he would have sworn was Jun._   
  
Sans tie, evil smirk, tapping foot and palpable ego.  
  
But that realization came too late. Ran had pushed past him with a snarl, katana whirling above his head, as Ken stood frozen in the doorway.   
  
Just as Jun's Evil Dad raised a finger, and two bodyguards aimed guns at Ran's head.  
  
A dart whistled past Ken's ear as he charged forward, and hit Jun's Evil Dad square in his forehead.  
  
Ran knocked the guns out of the bodyguard's hands, but not in time to stop the grenade one of the guards tossed into the middle of the room.   
  
Ken took out two guards. Omi's darts took out two more.  
  
"Run!" Abyssinian commanded. He took a punch to the side when he paused to yell.  
  
"Ran!" Yohji shrieked, sending feedback through their headsets.   
  
Ken scrambled for the grenade, reached it, and lobbed it toward the ridiculously high glass ceiling of the mansion.  
  
Ran, entangled with the one remaining bodyguard, was on the other side of the room but headed for a doorway.  
  
Ken remained stock-still for a moment, and watched Ran look toward the balcony. Yohji was staring back, gripping the railing, and looked intent on jumping over it at any moment. Omi broke their gazes by yanking hard on Yohji's arm.  
  
"Siberian! Get out!" Bombay snapped.  
  
Ran and the guard busted through the doors on the far wall. Ken turned and ran, and somehow managed to clear the building before the explosion.  
  
*****  
  
Yohji blinked open his eyes to a whole lot of grass. He rolled over onto his back and removed foliage from his mouth.   
  
For a moment, he imagined he could taste seawater. The last time he had woken up face down, outside. But that had been sand and seaweed in his mouth then, not dirt and grass.  
  
He shot straight up.   
  
It was still nighttime.   
  
_The mansion._   
  
He shot straight up in a panic, eyes wild.   
  
"Hey," His shoulder was suddenly shaken by a small hand. His hand jerked for his watch and was stopped by another firm grip. before registering Omi's voice. Omi let go of his wrist.  
  
The kid came into view. "Ken's okay," Omi said seriously. "So am I. I checked you over, but is there anything...?"  
  
"Ran!" Yohji gasped. He had a memory of the other Weiss reaching a back exit, before he and Omi booked it. But he'd still been fighting. He pushed Omi back so he could get to his feet. Nothing felt broken. "Where-?"  
  
Omi frowned. "Here's the thing, Yohji-kun." He pointed across the grass to what remained of the mansion, which was a lot, minus the roof and top floor. Fire was eating up what remained, however.   
  
Yohji focused. There were two new vans in the driveway, vans that seemed to show up whenever damage control needed to be done. "Kritiker?" He voiced hazily. "What does that have - where the hell is Ran? He made it through the back door, so-"  
  
Omi was frowning harder. Yohji couldn't get a clear read of what was going on in the kid's mind, and that usually indicated he was dealing with mission-face Omi. "This was supposed to be a quiet job, because he's so well connected, remember? So Kritiker has come to salvage proof of what a sleezeball he is. Ken did a good job chucking that thing in the air, because they think all his..." Omi looked ill. "Memorabilia. Well. They think he mainly hung out in his basement."  
  
"Omi," Yohji frowned impatiently, "Where the hell is Ran?" He was having a weird sense of vertigo, like they weren't quite having the same conversation. He also could have sworn he'd just repeated the same damned question five times, and Omi was acting like he hadn't heard him.   
  
_He knew this sick feeling, familiar as the burn of alcohol down his throat._  
  
But it skimmed the peripheral, biding its time. Yohji's entire being was swatting it away. His current emotional numbness was a good screen.   
  
_Omi's not nearly upset enough. So he's probably just done something heroically stupid._  
  
He had the vague sense that he should be panicking at this point, but as it was, he just felt a little dizzy. It seemed he was having some sort of delayed reaction.   
  
Yohji started across the grass. He was stopped by a hand on his sleeve.  
  
He turned to look at Omi, who was looking past him. A slight rustle of grass indicated he should look, too. Birman of all people was walking toward them, followed by Ken, who looked pissed as hell. "Forgive me for doing this, Balinese," she commented, "But present circumstances indicate you'll be a pain in the ass otherwise."   
  
Yohji gave her an incredulous look. Ken made a strange shooing motion with his hands behind her back.   
  
Omi squeaked, "Birman! That's not necessary, really, we can, he'll understand -"  
  
Something was pressed into Yohji palm, and it hurt like a sunovabitch. "You fucking drugged - what the hell is going on! Where the hell is Abys-"  
  
He passed out.  
  
*****  
  
 _Tap._  
  
 _Tap._  
  
Aya-chan started awake. The drip of the rain on the windows had lulled her into a restful sleep. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open; the room was too dark to see anything but the glow of her alarm clock. It was 3 a.m.; far too early for her to be awake.  
  
She stared at the green glow.   
  
_Tap._  
  
She sat up immediately. _That_ was what had woken her up.  
  
 _The mission._  
  
Her brother, Omi and the others. They had been sent on a mission. Had that been three knocks? Had it been two? Ran was supposed to knock three times to let her know everything was okay, so she could sleep.  
  
He said not to come check.   
  
Aya-chan slid to her feet anyway.  
  
 _She had to be sure._   
  
She tiptoed across the room. If she just peeked into the hallway, so she could see that they were back okay for herself, maybe they wouldn't notice she was up.  
  
She opened her door, then stepped back with a shriek. A redheaded woman faced her, flanked by two men in suits.  
  
... _Manx?_  
  
...What would Manx be doing outside her bedroom...?  
  
For a moment, she really felt like pinching herself.  
  
A moment later, her insides felt slimy.  
  
"Are they okay?" She asked shrilly.  
  
Manx stared back evenly at her. "You'll have to come with us, now. Your brother called in a safety code to our office, so this is per his request. Understand?"   
  
*****


	15. Chapter 15

*****  
  
Yohji woke up with a splitting headache and tried to remember where the heck he'd been the night before and what he'd done to earn him the tiny man with the jackhammer in his brain. Hangovers like the one he had were usually significant in the way that meant some stranger was going to show up to the flowershop to chew him out or ask incessantly for a second date.  
  
 _But he hadn't been going out._ He hadn't gone out in months. He'd been too busy conditioning himself to lose interest in life by boring himself into a stupor.  
  
 _But that had changed.  
  
He hadn't felt like that lately.   
  
Because things had changed.  
  
...because of Ran._   
  
His heart felt like it skipped.  
  
 _You forgot already. Can't believe it._ Coffeehouse sex with Ran. Ran letting him touch him. Ran _smiling_ , more than once, at _him_ , because of more than just some dumb joke he'd told...  
  
He gave a crooked smile. His memories didn't feel complete with those thoughts, though. They didn't explain the headache.   
  
_Too far. We came home, Omi called..._  
  
Yohji's eyes flew open.   
  
"Yohji, wait!" Omi's voice unexpectedly cut through the noise of his own heart beating as he sat straight up, groaning at the pain in his head. He looked around frantically. Omi was on his feet at the side of the bed. Pale light outside his window signified dawn. Which meant he'd been out all night.  
  
"Birman fucking drugged me!" Yohji croaked, appalled and betrayed and pissed as all hell. Recollection of the mission the night before came rushing back into sharp focus.   
  
He slid his feet to the floor. He was missing his pants - the only thing he was wearing was boxers. Right. Because he'd been in his mission clothes, they would have needed to come off. He stood up, one hand pressed to his temple, as he looked around for his jeans.  
  
Omi held up a hand, and Yohji realized the teen was blocking the door. Yohji shot him a sour look. His clothes had actually been put away, he'd been being neat for Ran. He went to his dresser and tugged on a pair of pants.   
  
"Hear me out before you do anything," Omi pleaded. The tone was just for show, his expression was stubborn.  
  
"Where is Ran?" He whirled on Omi.  
  
"Look, Ran called in a code to Kritiker," Omi rushed, "Manx left us a note and I just had a phonecall with her. She's not telling us much. I don't know what happened. But whatever's going on, it sounded like Ran wanted it-"  
  
A bitter taste was seeping into Yohji's throat.   
  
Omi was holding a white piece of paper toward him. He crossed the room and snatched it from Omi.   
  
_"Aya-chan has been taken in to custody per her brother's request. Directions prior to current events were set up between us at the initiation of a safety code, which has been called in by Abyssinian on his phone line. We will contact you._  
  
Yohji zeroed in on Omi's face. His cheeks were decorated with dried tear tracks.   
  
"Kiritker took Aya-chan?" Yohji screeched.   
  
"She never said Aya is dead!" Omi broke in quickly, reverting to the old name in his haste. "She never said Ran was dead, I mean. She would have, if he was."  
  
"This makes no fucking sense." Yohji pulled at his hair, and paced a couple steps. "I'm going-"  
  
"No! Yohji, she said on the phone that we're not allowed to go to Kritiker or Magic Bus. It could mean expulsion from Weiss, and if Ran is alive, he's not going to want to come back and find out you've done that!"  
  
Yohji wouldn't bet on that, not just yet, but he sat down heavily on the edge of his bed. He felt shell-shocked. "What did she say about Aya-chan?"  
  
"She said she was safe," Omi offered quietly.   
  
Yohji grabbed the pack of cigarettes from his bedside. His hand was shaking badly. "So Aya-chan's been taken by Kritiker, Ran's not here, and he called in some goddamned code to set it all up."  
  
"Yohji-kun, I don't think it's what it sounds like..." Omi started.  
  
The glare he gave Omi unfortunately contained every one of his vitrolic emotions. The youngest Weiss flinched. "It fucking sounds like Ran-Ayan has decided to jump ship," he concluded.  
  
Omi's lips were pressed into a thin line, but his eyes were wide. "He wouldn't do that,"   
  
"We've always been allowed to visit each other in Magic Bus, kiddo," Yohji said.   
  
"I don't think he's dead." Omi stated. "I'm worried too, Yohji-kun, they took Aya-chan! I care for Ran too! But I think Manx would tell us-"  
  
Yohji flicked his lighter and watched the flame leap and disappear repetitively. "Where the hell is Ken?"  
  
Omi frowned, but this time, his expression was sad. "Jun called him on our way back. He went to see him."  
  
"Why the heck would Birman drug me?" Yohji asked as if Omi hadn't answered his question. "If he wasn't trying to leave us?" He'd meant to say 'Weiss', oh well. "Nothing went wrong on that mission and there's not a single fucking reason he'd be blamed and not us anyway, so I can't think Kritiker took him in against his will either, yanno?"  
  
Omi paused, obviously chasing his train of thought. "Like I said, Yohji-kun, whatever is happening it sounds like it was something initiated by Ran-kun. You would have been hard to get home without any answers, and Kritiker certainly didn't give us any after you were out, only orders to go home or face punishments."  
  
"He's either dead or bailing on us," Yohji muttered sickly. "Or being kept hostage by Kritiker."  
  
"Kritiker wouldn't do that. There's no reason for it," Omi said.   
  
He wanted to shake Omi. It was times like these that his upbringing came out - his ultimate faith in Kritiker, even when his own girlfriend and teammate were missing.   
  
They fell silent and stared at each other. After a moment, Omi sat beside him on the bed and stared at the door, as if he were waiting like a dog for their housemates to come home.  
  
Yohji bent over, putting his face in his hands.  
  
*****  
  
Ken parked his motorcycle on the curb by Jun's apartment and stared at the people walking out and occasionally inside.   
  
There was just no way he could do this.   
  
It wasn't like there hadn't been precedent for telling people though. Sakura had found out, the nosy pesk.   
  
He immediately felt bad. He actually didn't mind Sakura, he was just stressed. It wasn't just that he had to tell the guy-he-was-dating probably one of the worst things he'd had to tell anyone in his life, and that was saying a fricken' lot, but he'd left Yohji in a drugged coma and Ran was still missing and he had no clue where to even begin with that one. Omi was convinced he wasn't dead, but what did he know?   
  
One thing at a time. He was outside Jun's apartment, so that's what he had to focus on.   
  
_Come on, Hidaka. You gotta do this. Whether or not you tell the man, he's gonna need to be comforted._  
  
It didn't convince his feet any. His hands mutinied too, retaining their grip on the handlebars.  
  
 _Shit._  
  
Jun just exited the building. Ken's eyes darted furtively from side to side, looking for an escape or a handy excuse for why he was just sitting outside like a dork. Finding none, he gave Jun a sheepish, nervous smile with one hand behind his head. "Hey."  
  
Jun didn't look half as miserable as Ken was expecting. He gave him a broad smile. "Hey yourself. You planning on coming up? Or just sitting there and looking cool?" He walked forward and bumped his shoulder into Ken's as he dismounted, helmet in the crook of one elbow.  
  
They walked toward the building. Ken eyed Jun out of the corner of his eye. "Uh, you doin' okay?  
  
Jun's smile faltered, for a very brief moment. "Yeah? You?"  
  
"Uh..." It was possible Jun hadn't heard.  
  
 _Oh crap. Oh crap oh crap oh crap._ He was so not prepared or willing to break the news of his father's death to him. It had only been one night, what if Jun hadn't been notified yet? What if it hadn't even made the news? Who knows what Kritiker's clean-up team had done!  
  
Ken had halted in the midst of his mental panicking. Jun turned to face him, looking suspicious. "What?"  
  
"Uh..." Ken said again.  
  
Jun peered at him, then suddenly, his shoulders sagged. "Oh. You heard."  
  
"Uh..." Ken responded articulately.  
  
His guy-that-he-was-dating gave a sigh. "Huh. I was hoping you hadn't...not like - well, come on, come on, let's go in." Jun tugged on his arm, face averted.  
  
Ken followed him, eyes on his back distrustfully. They were silent in the elevator and up to his apartment.   
  
"Hey, man," Ken started. He didn't even take the time to look around, even though this was the first time he'd seen Jun's pad. "I'm really sorry-"  
  
"Look," Jun interrupted him. He shut the door behind them and turned to face Ken. "I didn't want to talk about this with you. But I guess you heard, so it sucks. You heard my dad was killed last night? Let me tell you. My old man was a bastard. A real bastard. I can't even-" Jun's breathing was noticably quickening. Ken stepped nearer to him, and put a hand on his arm. Jun sent him a look of mixed panic and gratitude. "He never - I was the oldest son, you know...Ken, man, maybe we should sit for this."  
  
Jun turned abruptly and paced by a couch. Ken peered around a bit at the apartment. It was clean and neat - there were soccer posters on the wall and sports magazines on the table, a signed ball in a case, a total rich kid's apartment - shit, he hoped Jun wouldn't mind a little mess if they saw this out, 'cause he just wasn't a neat guy, himself...  
  
"Sit down, okay? I don't even, look, I don't even know how to tell you, but you gotta know. I'm just gonna tell you. You're gonna find out. I like you," Jun paused and looked askance at Ken. Ken threw himself down on the couch, trying to look as un-assassinlike as he could. Jun sat down next to him. "I really like you. So you're gonna - well, you're probably gonna find out the whole story whether or not I tell you, so I better just....and the bastard's dead. He never hurt me, I gotta say that, but Ken, fuck man, I used to have a little brother, he went missing. I never told you that, did I? You know who the main suspect was? My dad. Yeah. But the case never went anywhere. And the shittiest thing is, man, I really think he did it..."  
  
Jun was staring off at nothing, voice monotone. "Just so you know. Why I'm not upset. Why I'm happy that asshole-haven't even talked to him in years, man, years, and I get this call last night-"  
  
"Well," Ken stated flatly. He watched Jun carefully. "I guess that makes this a bit easier."  
  
*****  
  
Water was dripping intermittently into the sink, and noise from a stray car here and there broke into the kitchen. Other than that, there was pretty much zilch going on. Omi wished there was a voice or the television or some music coming from any of the apartments. Even if it were being played too loudly or punctuated by Ken's screaming at a soccer match, he'd even welcome that at this point.  
  
Omi must have done a good job of convincing Yohji he was a-ok, because otherwise he'd like to think Yohji would have stuck around to watch out for him.   
  
The older man had pretty much snuck out though the second Omi's back was turned.   
  
_Oh, Yohji-kun, you had so not better have gone to Magic Bus._   
  
He was having regret about convincing Yohji everything was just fine. He wished he were a slightly worse liar. He would really, really, really have liked some company right then. Even Yohji looking suicidal and raising their chances of getting lung cancer before they were 30 was better company than none at all.  
  
And waiting on three people was definitely better than waiting on four people to return.  
  
Waiting on no one at all would be even better.  
  
 _They're all okay. Ken's just talking with his boyfriend. Yohji's just...well, he's probably just walking. It's too early for anything else. Way too early. So he's fine._   
  
Omi decided this time, he really could blame Yohji for going out. It was only 3 p.m. A whole day hadn't even passed. He should be at home, waiting with Omi for everyone to get back, because that was what their teammate and Aya-chan and certainly Ken deserved. Ken especially might need cheering up, and it was just _irresponsible_ for Yohji to leave like that!  
  
He glared at the window above the sink, which was still not fixed and still boarded up.   
  
_See?_ He thought, glowering harder. _Ran needs to come back and pay for that, because that is so not my fault._   
  
His expression faltered after a moment, however, and his eyes dropped to his hands, clasped in front of him on the table.   
  
_...if Ran was dead...._  
  
Omi swallowed past a lump. He wasn't. Kritiker would have told them. Something else was going on, he was sure of it. Ran just needed to sort it out, and then he'd be back.  
  
And then Aya-chan would be back.  
  
And then he'd call Yohji, and he'd be back.  
  
And he was positive that Ken would be back soon enough anyway, with news that he and Jun were just fine. Although that one, Omi had to admit he cared a little less about.  
  
Omi pushed his cell phone around the table for a bit, then made himself stop. He finally pulled his legs up onto the chair and wrapped his arms around them. He stared at the clock. The way it was ticking a moment before the sink dripped was getting incredibly annoying, but he'd already tried and failed to get the faucet fixed.  
  
 _Oh, Aya-chan. I wish you'd call._  
  
*****


	16. Chapter 16

*****  
  
"You are what?" Jun was looking manic, his eyes showing the whites all the way around his pupils. He seemed to be frozen like a rabbit in the middle of his small living room.  
  
Ken held out his hands, like he would to calm a dog.   
  
"I, I mean, you did what?" Jun stammered, which was completely unlike him. "Is this..." his face turned angry, but it only lasted a moment before drifting back to confused. "Did you think this would make you a hero or something? Ken, man, don't lie to me. I told you it was okay. Holy crap, I just needed to tell someone..."  
  
"I'm not lying!" Ken protested quickly. "I would never-"  
  
"You think that saying you killed my dad after I told you what I did is gonna make you cooler or something? What the heck is this about?" Jun started pacing. "I needed you man, I needed you to understand, not to-"  
  
"I'm. Not. Lying!" Ken made his words staccato. He was expecting the panic, not so much the tenacious disbelief. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Jun by his shoulders. "How do you think I knew about this? It didn't even make the news yet. It's too early. I mean, geez, I'm glad you don't think I could do something like that, I guess, but this has been eating me up!" He drew in a shaky breath.  
  
Jun froze at the contact, eyes finding every corner of Ken's face. His eyes widened more after they found his eyes again.   
  
Ken gave a small nod of encouragement. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but you were gonna find out, like you said about your dad, it's just this secret is about me." Ken fell heavily back on the couch. He yanked his hair with one hand. "I was planning to tell you all along, just not this soon. It's my job, it's a job, and it really saves people, you know? I feel like I'm making some sort of difference with this. But then we got the order about your dad, and I just - look, I couldn't keep seeing you without telling you."   
  
He squared his shoulders and tilted his head up to face Jun. Jun was standing stock-still again, looking like his brain was skipping like a CD.   
  
"You said you were a soccer player," Jun mumbled.  
  
 _Shit._  
  
Looked like he was gonna have to get into every damned thing.  
  
*****  
  
"I'm home!" Ken came through the door, and would have slammed the door if he'd had the energy. He just didn't care to make a statement like that though. The world was grey, grey and empty and full of suck, just as it had been for a long time.   
  
He was surprised to find Omi waiting at the kitchen table with nothing but a phone in front of him. He looked at his watch and then back at Omi, who'd jumped to his feet by that point.  
  
"Ken-kun!" Omi exclaimed. "What happened? Are you and Jun...?"   
  
Ken blinked. He surveyed the room. There weren't any dishes to be seen, either in the sink or the dishrack. The shop wasn't open, but he'd counted on that. He doubted any of them wanted to fend off the fangirls asking where Ran was, and that just wasn't good strategy for keeping their cover, anyway. "Dude, Omi. Did you even eat today? What're you doing in here?"  
  
Omi didn't miss a beat. "Ken-kun! What happened with Jun? Does he know about us?"  
  
Ken frowned, and pulled out a chair, plopping down in it. He suddenly felt weary. "Yeah, he knows, Omi. Sorry."  
  
Omi's face didn't give much away. "I guessed you were going to tell him, Ken-kun. That's okay, if you think he's trustworthy."  
  
"I don't think he's gonna tell anyone. I'm not even sure he believed me. I mean, I guess he did near the end, kinda...told him about Kase, kinda...oh, man." Ken crossed his arms on the top of the table and thunked his forehead down on top of them. He had barely slept before getting that call from Jun, and now...he tried hard not to focus on the sick feeling in his gut, the one that was so familiar. Jun hadn't exactly betrayed him though, it was kinda closer to the opposite.  
  
The room was silent. Ken imagined Omi frowning at him.  
  
"Well, I don't know how, but we'd better keep an eye on him for a little while anyway. I'm really sorry, Ken-kun, but we can't just trust him not to tell anyone." Omi said.  
  
"I know," Ken sighed dejectedly.   
  
"Ken-kun?" Omi prompted. His hand fell onto Ken's back, warm and small.   
  
"I'm fine." Ken lied. "Said he needed space, man. Means I got dumped."  
  
Omi gave him a hug. Ken was grateful for it, then started to get antsy and shrugged him off.   
  
"Whatever, what'd I think would happen? 'Hey man I'm an assassin and I just killed your dad.' Except yanno, that should have been okay!" Ken flung his hands up into the air, obviously startling Omi, who gave a little jump. "He knew he was a bastard! He told me, that's why I told him, this whole thing just sucks...hey, where's Yohji?"  
  
Omi frowned. "Out."  
  
Ken frowned back. "Great."  
  
He was pretty sure that Yohji 'out' was the last thing they needed, until they got Ran back.  
  
*****  
  
Yohji watched the clouds making their way from the right side of his vision to the left, the sky a pale hazy blue behind them. At the moment he was bathed in warm sunlight; he was watching cloud approach the sun that would cast him in shadow in a moment.  
  
He lay on the grass with his hands behind his head, an unlit cigarette dangling in one corner of his mouth. It just didn't seem appropriate to smoke on Ran's parents' graves. Maybe when he was on a different plot and sure Ran's body was in the grave he was laying on he'd smoke just to piss off his spirit as some sort of revenge for leaving them behind. As it was, he was holding on to the thin shred of hope that he might need these ghosties' approval when it came to their son.  
  
A cloud passed in front of his vision that looked like his Seven. It didn't even make him smile, and that depressed him.  
  
He wished he wasn't wondering what sort of person it made him that he almost hoped he'd find a fresh spot of churned earth when he'd come here, deep down in his secret heart. It was driving him mad not knowing.   
  
_Hold it together..._  
  
He was learning to live with ghosts haunting him.  
  
 _Hasn't even been a day._  
  
If Kritiker was just stringing them all along...he hoped they didn't think they were going to be left with a loyal team of assassins. The way they were giving them just the threadbare tatters of expectation that Ran was still alive and coming back...Yohji knew that if that proved false, if Kritiker was trying to prevent them mourning only to slam it into them in the morning, he wasn't going to survive it this time.  
  
He didn't know if that would be better or worse than living with the suspicion that Ran had tried him out, started using his own name again, started to open up to Yohji and then simply left because he'd decided not to feel the truth. Yohji was having a _really_ hard time dealing with that one. He doubted either way that they'd ever be clued in.  
  
"Fuck you," Yohji muttered.   
  
The cloud chose that moment to take away his sun.  
  
A sudden ring from his cellphone made him jump and scramble with his hand around his body, finally remembering he'd laid it on the grass for easy access. His hand was shaking badly as he flipped it open and brought it to his ear. "Yeah?"  
  
"Yohji-kun!" Omi's voice sounded relieved. "Ken-kun came back, I thought you'd like to know."  
  
Yeah, he supposed he did. Disappointment sucker-punched him though. "Yeah, yeah, good. Ran?"  
  
"No word yet." Omi said, his voice noticeably smaller. "But Yohji-kun, we'd both be grateful to have you here. Jun dumped Ken when he told him about..."  
  
"Call me when you hear from Kritiker." Yohji cut him off. He really could just not deal with Ken's heartache at the moment. Omi probably needed a distraction, and he'd be better at comforting Ken anyway.  
  
He cut Omi's voice off by closing his phone before Omi got out a whole word.  
  
He successfully ignored the lump of guilt in his throat.  
  
He slid his sunglasses down over his eyes with one finger and sat up. He was faced with Ran's last name on two headstones.  
  
"Don't even think about it," Yohji muttered darkly.   
  
He pushed himself to his feet.   
  
Time for some distraction.  
  
*****  
  
Ran blinked open sticky eyes to lights that were too bright. He shielded his eyes with his forearm, and thus discovered the IV trailing a cord out from his skin.  
  
"Don't panic," a familiar woman's voice cautioned.  
  
"Where the-" Ran turned his head.   
  
Manx sat with her legs crossed in a bedside chair, her posture military-stiff. She gave him a smile that quickly disappeared. "You were drugged. Your target's building exploded. You called in your sister's safety-code to our office. Do you remember any of this?"  
  
Ran's head was pounding. He accepted the cup of medicine Manx offered. It was hazy, his memory. He remembered being in the mansion, the ambush...tousling with the guard, the sharp grin the man wore as Ran finally impaled him, the needle the man produced from nowhere as he went down...despair, he had felt despair...his recollection cut off abruptly there.  
  
"Yes," he affirmed finally.  
  
"You thought you were going to die," Manx commented.  
  
"Weiss?" He coughed.  
  
"Are all fine," she replied. She had a cagey look to her face Ran found disconcerting.  
  
He would ask in a moment. "My sister?"   
  
"Is here," Manx replied. "She's been in to see you. She knows now of your plans with us for her future."  
  
Ran gave a short nod. It didn't particularly matter.   
  
"It's possible you're lucky we showed up for damage control," Manx commented. "You team was messier than we wanted this to be. Kritiker saved your life. We had an antidote for what was given to you."  
  
Ran narrowed his eyes. "I'm not dead. Why did you bring my sister here?"  
  
"Yes. You're not dead. We are smart enough to figure that much out." A twitch of Manx's lips was the only giveaway to the acidic humor in her words. "But you could be. So we kept to our agreement, for the time being."  
  
Ran stared at her.   
  
"You're offering to kill me?" He paraphrased dubiously.  
  
Manx pursed her lips. "Perhaps you have been spending too much time with certain members of Weiss, Abyssinian. Use your head. This is an opportunity."  
  
"Is this punishment?" Ran snapped.   
  
The other redhead held up one hand. "I think I know what you were about to say." Her lips twitched again, in definite amusement this time. "But don't feel the need to spell it out. It's not unheard of among Kritiker, Abyssinian, so don't think of this that way. This is no punishment for...liaisons."  
  
Ran stared at the IV, slowly feeding a clear liquid into his arm.   
  
"You have your sister here. The code has been called in." Manx pursued irritably. "You have honored your contract with us, and Kritiker is rewarding that service by presenting you with an option."  
  
Ran's head jerked up. Manx's expression had softened. "We will tell Weiss you died. No contact with old teammates once you leave. You can take your sister and start a new life for yourself."  
  
"Weiss doesn't know I'm alive?" Ran gritted out.   
  
_Yohji._   
  
"They'll live without you." Manx assured him crisply. "So think about it first."  
  
She stood up and walked with staccato steps to the door. It clicked shut behind her.  
  
It opened again immediately. His sister ran inside and threw her arms around him before he had a chance to get up.   
  
"Careful," Ran cautioned quietly.  
  
She stepped back. Ran eyed the IV and decided it wasn't anything important, and tugged it out of his wrist. His sister made a small choking noise. He looked up, she was grimacing.  
  
"You probably should have let a nurse do that," she commented. "Oh Ran, I'm so glad you're okay! They knocked last night, I thought it was you, Manx took me here and they've been talking about some code - I'm old enough to know these things, I'm not just a child, even if I have been asleep, and I think I deserve to decide if I want to be kept somewhere or not if you die!" The last word was more of a shriek than a statement.  
  
Ran winced, his head was pounding. "I thought I was going to die," he mentioned quietly.  
  
Her mouth turned down and her lips trembled, although the rest of her expression managed to look angry. "Don't say things like that! And you weren't sure, now were you!"  
  
Ran's eyebrows went up.  
  
"I mean, I'm glad!" Aya-chan looked like she'd shocked herself. She ran forward again and threw her arms around his shoulders.  
  
Ran hugged her closely. "I'm sorry," he offered. "I set that up before...I need to know that if something happens you will be all right. Kritiker has very good connections."  
  
"I have the others," she said. "They'll take care of me, you know. You should trust them, Ran."  
  
"It's more than that, Aya." Ran said. He pulled back from her. "There's legal stuff. They aren't relatives. I know they care for you, but I haven't asked them anything like that. Aya, you can't just assume other people will be willing to do that. They aren't obligated. They aren't really my-"  
  
Aya-chan's chin set. "They are friends, Ran Fujimiya, and Omi at least thinks we're family. I bet Yohji does too! So don't you dare."  
  
Ran frowned.   
  
His heart monitor was getting annoying in the background. He tore off those straps too. The room fell into silence.   
  
Ran broke it first. "Aya, they brought you in here to make us an offer."  
  
"I heard it," she cut him off. "I was outside your door."  
  
Ran grimaced. "No more killing," he stated. "We'd have a normal life."  
  
"You've always protected me, from bullies, from getting yelled at, when I get hurt," Aya-chan answered him. Her eyes were wide and earnest. "It's kind of who you've always been, isn't it? It's not just killing. There seem to be a lot of other people who need protecting."  
  
He wasn't sure how to take her statement. If he were being stubborn, he could read into it and translate that his own sister thought he was well-suited to be a killer - true as that might be it made bile rise. He knew that wasn't what she meant.  
  
He examined her face, and tried to find the words he needed to convince them both.   
  
Aya-chan narrowed her eyes. After a moment, she sighed. She sat down on the bed next to him and took his hand. He stared at their entwined fingers.   
  
"I guess it's my turn to look out for you," his sister said. "Since you're being difficult."  
  
*****  
  
Yohji had gone the same way from the cemetery as he had the night before, but headed to the club he'd mentioned to Ran instead of the coffee house. The idea of sitting there alone was too much for him, possibly for the first time. He'd usually been content to hang with Asuka's memory; it was the closest he'd ever be able to get to her. But Ran's absence was too fresh. Even the thought of going there so soon without him felt as if something was physically missing from his body. He'd walk into the bathroom and see only him and Ran and he knew that his actual solitude in contrast would be too much for him.   
  
So he swerved to a side street and parked next to the back entrance to his usual bar, off the main drag to protect his precious vehicle.   
  
"About ready to call it quits?" Michiru, the young female bartender, was peering at him.  
  
 _Only if you're ready to go home with me, baby._   
  
The words didn't reach his lips. So trained to respond like that. He was usually attracted to Michiru - tonight she just was coming off like an animated mannequin.   
  
"Nah," Yohji responded.   
  
Michiru frowned. "That wasn't exactly a suggestion...it seems like maybe you've had enough?"   
  
"Nah," Yohji repeated. "Happy hour's coming up, don't wanna miss it."   
  
He looked to the empty seat beside him, and imagined Asuka sitting there. Her hair turned red and lengthened, the smile turned into a barely-there quirk of the lips, her chest flattened and the blouse she was wearing morphed into a black tee, or perhaps it was a hideous orange sweater, or a coat with too many buckles.   
  
Yohji frowned at the empty space where his apparition should be.  
  
 _Asuka, Asuka, don't leave me like that,_ he thought to himself. _You're my only ghost. You gotta give me your blessing for this, yanno? Not a replacement. He's different._  
  
"Excuse me?" Michiru interrupted his thoughts. "No more. You're going home now, right?"  
  
"Michiru, baby, you know me." Yohji gave her his most winning smile and a wink. "I know my limits. I just need some space tonight. So be kind to good ol' Yohji, huh? I'm very interesting to talk to -" He didn't feel like talking. But he didn't exactly trust himself to go home either. "-and not bad to look at either, eh?"  
  
Michiru gave him a smile and a giggle, he guessed the first could have been real but the giggle was totally forced. "Ok, ok. But you listen to me next time. Right? Only a little while longer."  
  
Yohji nodded. The bar was mostly empty anyway, it was far too early for business to pick up.   
  
He glanced at the seat next to him, where he had imagined Asuka.   
  
He realized that it didn't particularly matter that he hadn't gone to his coffee shop. Ran's absence still felt like a black hole had opened up at his side, sucking at him.  
  
He wondered if Ran even gave him a second thought. Even wondered for a second how his absence was going to affect him. Wondered if Ran had this planned, even as he handed out poisoned crumbs of affection under the guise of sustenance.   
  
Not even a day. It was still enough to shake the dishwater of Yohji's emotions and jostle up the dregs of unresolved loss.  
  
 _He was cursed._ If he'd ever had a doubt.  
  
 _And fuck Kritiker._ He resolved to go kick their asses tonight or maybe tomorrow, screw the consequences. He'd give them close to a day, just 'cause he couldn't really see himself doing much else, the kids needed him and there was still that small, small wisp of hope...  
  
Yohji had been coping. Before _this_ he'd been coping.  
  
Yohji waved Michiru over. She was still pursing her lips at him, but poured him his drink.  
  
*****


	17. Chapter 17

*****  
  
Ken listened to the hiss and scrape of Omi frying something on the stove for them. The sky had darkened outside to a misty twilight sheen.   
  
Ken hadn't been able to bring himself to move from the kitchen table since coming back from his meeting with Jun. He half-listened to Omi prattle about school, something neither of them cared about but at least it filled the silence.  
  
"My teacher didn't believe me," Omi was saying, "I had to spell it out for him. The textbook was so wrong. I was going to just leave it there, but I don't want the other students-"  
  
"Aya-chan is gone, Omi, don't you care?" Ken finally snapped. He knew he was projecting.  
  
It looked like Omi did too. He paused to look at Ken, his eyes sad. "I can't do anything about that right now. Especially if it's something Ran-kun decided..."  
  
" _Aya_ doesn't always think straight, in case you haven't noticed." Ken growled.   
  
"I have to believe this will all be sorted out soon, Ken-kun." Omi replied mildly. "Ran-kun will be back too."  
  
Ken's eyes widened. Yeah, he was worried about Aya- _awww, shit, Ran. Fine. He'll call him Ran since everyone else was_ \- but he hadn't expected Omi to pick up on that. But then again, maybe Omi was just trying to reassure himself.  
  
"Well, it better be soon," Ken snapped. "Because who knows what the hell Yohji's doing."  
  
Omi sighed, then put down the cooking chopsticks and lowered the heat. He turned to face Ken, hands going to his hips. "Ken-kun! Look. If we don't hear from Aya-chan or Ran by tomorrow, we'll look into it, okay?"  
  
"If Yohji's not already," Ken muttered.  
  
Omi sighed again. "He's at a bar. I put a tracking device in his coat."  
  
Ken's eyes widened again.   
  
Omi smiled a bit at him. He picked his cooking chopsticks up again.   
  
Ken frowned. "I need to remember not to ever get on your bad side," he muttered lamely, trying for humor.  
  
Omi shook a chopstick at him. "That's right."  
  
Ken couldn't quite tell if he was kidding.  
  
*****  
  
"You're sure about this, Abyssinian?" Manx was frowning heavily at Ran.  
  
Aya-chan shifted by her brother's side. Finally, she glanced up at him, and nudged his elbow surrpetitiously.   
  
Ran shifted his gaze to her. Aya-chan gave him a small, encouraging smile.  
  
Her brother noticeably slouched his shoulders. By the expression on Manx's face, a mixture of concern now mixed in with the former grim lines of her features, the redhaired woman had noticed, too.   
  
Ran turned back to her. Aya-chan watched him square his back and firm his jaw. It reminded her of the few times he'd come up against his father concerning curfews or other things like that.   
  
"I never intended to leave Weiss," Ran said finally. His voice was quiet. He added, "Without my sister."  
  
Manx's gaze shifted briefly to Aya-chan, but it didn't linger. "Yet you prepared for just that scenerio with this code."  
  
Ran nodded shortly.   
  
Aya-chan's eyes widened as she suddenly got what they were talking about. 'Leave Weiss.'  
  
... _'die.'_  
  
"I wanted to protect her myself." Ran continued without looking at Aya-chan again. "You already know that is the reason why I brought her to the Koneko."  
  
Manx narrowed her eyes. "And the reason you'll do so again?"  
  
"No." Ran said.   
  
Aya-chan held her breath, looking between them. Her brother hadn't told her his decision yet. Not that it really mattered, she'd be going back to the Koneko one way or another. But she didn't want to have to fight with her brother anymore, and she didn't want to sneak around.   
  
"No?" Manx half-snapped. "So you're taking our offer?"  
  
"No." Ran snapped back.   
  
Manx held her brother's eyes, mirroring the hard look he was giving her. Suddenly, her face relaxed, and her lips quirk up, just slightly. "I see." She transferred the smile briefly to Aya-chan, then back to Ran. "So you've decided this code is no longer necessary."  
  
"I would like to keep it in case..." Ran answered.  
  
Manx kept her sphinx-smile. "I think we both understand now that you will ensure that it will not be necessary." She paused. "A word of advice. It is good to keep ourselves as far separated from those dark beasts as we can, Abyssinian. Though Weiss may not think it, Kritiker approves of those things that keep us human."  
  
Aya-chan's eyebrows shot up with her brother's.  
  
"Be sure it does not interfere with Kritiker." Threat was laced acidly through her tone.  
  
Ran narrowed his eyes again.  
  
Manx continued to smile placidly. "Congratulations, Abyssinian. Kritiker is glad to keep you as Weiss."  
  
Ran suddenly looked confused, then glowered. Aya-chan couldn't even begin to guess what her brother had realized in that moment. She looked between the two redheads, watching them face off silently.  
  
Manx turned on her heel, raising a hand as she walked away from them.. "I trust you'll show yourself and your sister out. I'm happy we were able to counteract the poison, you're very valuable to us." She paused at the door, and smiled over her shoulder. To Aya-chan, it seemed the most personal thing she'd done during the whole meeting.  
  
The door opened, and shut, leaving them alone. Ran turned to her.  
  
Aya-chan smiled at him. "I'm a good cover, you know," she pursued, in case he was thinking of changing his mind.  
  
Ran actually rolled his eyes at her.  
  
*****  
  
It was night when the door handle turned and made both Ken and Omi jump. At Omi's suggestion, they had started playing cards to keep their minds off things. They were now on their nineteenth or maybe twentieth game. Omi made sure to keep the win/lose numbers approaching equal for Ken's sake.   
  
They both threw down their cards immediately at the noise, scraping their chairs back from the table in unison.   
  
Omi had been expecting Yohji, or maybe even a representative from Kritiker.   
  
He could tell it was Aya-chan at the first glimpse of her braids. He ran toward her before she got all the way through the door.  
  
Her entire face lit up and she tackled him back. "Omi! Oh, Omi! We're back! I'm so sorry, Manx came and took me last night and I didn't know where my brother was or if any of you had been hurt-"  
  
A throat cleared behind her, from outside. Aya-chan maneuvered them more inside the room, throwing a fond look over her shoulder. It tipped Omi off to who it was immediately.  
  
"Ran-kun!"   
  
"Ran!" Ken sounded every bit as jubiliant. Omi stared hard at him, suddenly realizing it was the first he'd automatically called their oldest teammate by his given name. He shared a look with Aya-chan; she'd noticed, too. "You're alive, man! Jesus, what the hell were you thinking? Where'd you go?"  
  
Omi normally would have chided Ken for attacking Ran so quickly after his return, but he found he couldn't disagree with Ken's worry. "We thought you might be dead," he added, then shot an apologetic look at his girlfriend. "But welcome home!" Omi added quickly, beaming sincerely.  
  
Ran shut the door behind him then gave them both a small smile. It took Omi aback; glancing over, he saw Ken looking equally shocked. "I'm sorry. The guard poisoned me and Kritiker didn't give me the option of contacting you." Ran frowned then, and surveyed the room. "Is Yohji here?"  
  
Omi exchanged looks with both Ken and Aya-chan. "No."  
  
"Where is he?" Ran asked shortly, sounding and looking more like his usual self.   
  
"I'll get the information about what happened from your sister," Omi warned, looking to Aya-chan for confirmation. She nodded.   
  
Ran pressed his lips thin.   
  
"Since when do you care?" Ken snapped suddenly, surprising Omi. The brunet had his arms crossed over his chest, looking stubborn.   
  
Ran narrowed his eyes at Ken, then actually answered, "I have always cared. Stay out of our business."  
  
It took Omi a minute to get his mouth working. Beside him, Aya-chan was beaming at her brother.   
  
"According to his tracking device," Omi finally ventured, "He's at a bar in Roppongi." He gave him the exact address.  
  
It was only after the door closed behind Ran that he realized the older man was still in his mission gear.   
  
_At least he won't look out of place at a club,_ Omi tried to console himself.   
  
He turned to Aya-chan. He wanted to hug her more, but he and Ken both needed to know what, exactly, had happened to provoke Kritiker into kidnapping the Fujimiyas.  
  
*****  
  
Yohji traced the crack in the countertop by his nose for what had to be the hundredth time, tracking the motion of his finger lazily. Around him, the club had picked up and the lights had dimmed, flickering with the flash of colored strobes. He kept having to shrug off hopeful dance or conversation partners. Drinks that were sent his way were quickly snatched by his bartender. Michiru was cleaning glasses from behind the counter, he could sense she was still there watching him. Guess she didn't trust him to not grab another drink from another bartender when she wasn't looking.  
  
But Yohji had been cut off hours ago, and felt he was nearing painful sobriety.  
  
"Tonight," he muttered. "Fine. Fuck them. I'll do it tonight." Threats or not, he couldn't just wait like this. He would go face his employer on his own, at least that would save Ken and Omi from the backlash. "Fuck you, Ran, too, yanno?" He slapped a hand down on the counter and sat up straight on his stool. It made Michiru jump, but she was apparently getting used to him talking to himself. Maybe she thought he was still drunk.  
  
"I remember that being pleasant," A deep voice came from by his left elbow.  
  
Yohji spun around so hard on his stool that he actually stumbled off of it. He ran into a few passerby, but they managed to hold onto their drinks and continue on without caring.   
  
He steadied himself with a hand on his vacated stool.   
  
He worked his mouth, then peered over the edge of his unnecessary sunglasses to verify the coloring. _But that coat isn't a liar...  
  
Ran.  
  
Aya._  
  
Yohji tore off his sunglasses and jammed them on top of his head. He took a step forward, then worked his mouth.  
  
He admittedly thought the other man might have been a ghost. Another apparation like his companion Asuka. His eyes raked over the other's face.   
  
"Alive..." Yohji choked out. He wasn't sure whether his voice was loud enough to be heard or not. He recovered enough to rephrase that sentiment. "You're really here, Ran?"  
  
Ran regarded him with his deep violet eyes. His bangs were pushed to the side, no strands obscuring his expression this time.   
  
But the man was still in mission gear.   
  
Though the redhead's face was grim, it also contained the faint hint of a smile. It was full of both worry and a definite hint of ' _idiot Kudoh._ '  
  
 _Something had changed._ Yohji couldn't be sure what it was, but he was sure that it _was._   
  
Without taking his eyes off of him, Yohji threw a wad of bills for a tip on the counter for Michuru. "Outside," he had to shout to be heard over the music, though his contricting throat made him hoarse.  
  
Ran nodded, and turned on his heel. He got checked out more than once as he made his way through the club, coat flourishing behind him despite the press of club-goers. Yohji followed closely behind, almost on his heels.   
  
"I thought you were dead!" Yohji screamed at him the second they rounded the corner into the alleyway.   
  
Ran whirled around to face him, face surprised and eyes narrowed. "Is that what they said?"  
  
"...no." Yohji ran a hand through his hair. "But shit, Ran, they usually tell us when one of us is injured on a mission, and as far as I know you didn't do anything that would make them kidnap you, yanno? So what the hell was that about? Where did you go?"  
  
Ran regarded him. Yohji felt as though he were being measured, which infuriated him coming from this man he'd worked with and slept with and trusted.   
  
Cars drove by the ends of the alleyway, casting their faces in waves of light and shadow.   
  
"Kritiker took me in at my request," Ran answered him finally.  
  
"Your request?" So what if his voice was shrill. The only reason a punch hadn't been thrown yet was because he...  
  
"Yes." Ran thankfully cut off that thought. "I thought I was going to die. I have a code in place with Kritiker to take Aya-chan in if that happens."  
  
"A code?" Yohji parroted. His fists clenched. "You bastard."  
  
Ran didn't seem to follow. He watched Yohji silently, apparently waiting for an explanation.  
  
"Don't you trust us at all?" Yohji hissed. "Don't you trust _me_ at all? Why the hell didn't you tell us-"  
  
"It wasn't your problem!" Ran countered.  
  
"She lives with us! Yeah, she's your sister, but don't you think we might just care about what happens to someone we risked our lives for and who we've cared about like a sister for months now? Huh? What about Omi?" Yohji shouted, waving his arms. "And _you're_ sure as hell my problem, Ran-Ayan. Or is that-"  
  
Ran suddenly invaded his personal space, throwing him with one hand on his shoulder against the wall. His face wasn't angry, however, and that observation caught Yohji with his mouth open.  
  
Ran invaded that too, swiftly, before Yohji could react. The other man's lips were both firm and warm. He brought a hand up to thread fingers into the hairs at the nape of Yohji's neck.  
  
He pulled back too soon.  
  
Ran caught his eyes, flicking back and forth intensely to meet both. "I'm sorry." His mouth was still close enough to Yohji's for him to feel Ran's breath on his lips.   
  
Yohji worked his mouth. The thump of the music from the club was pervading their moments of silence. "So that explains why Kritier took you. Why the hell didn't they tell us you were still alive, and why the hell did they take your sister if they knew that?"  
  
Ran frowned. His knee had found a resting place in the area between Yohji's legs. Yohji was almost offended at the thought that Ran had been trying to distract him from asking questions.   
  
It took all of Yohji's willpower to push off from the wall and make Ran take a step back. "Because it looked like you were looking for a way out of this, Ran-Ayan." Yohji pushed harshly. He didn't specify whether he meant Weiss or their relationship.   
  
Ran looked shocked. "Manx offered me a choice. It was their decision not to contact you. I wasn't awake to argue with them."  
  
"A choice?" Yohji echoed grimly.   
  
Ran's voice was quiet. He looked toward the street on his right, not meeting Yohji's eyes. "A way out."  
  
A cold wire of dread wrapped itself around Yohji's heart. "Then..."  
  
Was this goodbye?  
  
Did Ran only come back to pay his respects?  
  
Ran turned back to him. "It was a test, Yohji. It's over."  
  
Yohji suddenly remembered he should be breathing. "What does that mean?"  
  
"My sister convinced me that..." Ran looked like he was fighting for words. "To turn their offer down."  
  
"How?" Yohji whispered, searching the other man's pale face.  
  
Ran appeared bemused. "She said she would remain here with Omi regardless of what I decided."  
  
"And?" Yohji snapped. He wasn't connecting the dots of Ran's logic. Still shaky from the prospect that he'd lost yet another partner, he was having a hard time accepting that the status quo was back in order.   
  
And he couldn't accept just the status quo. Not any longer.  
  
"And..." Ran visibly took in a breath.   
  
Then he smiled.   
  
Yohji's own breath caught. He took a half-step toward the other man.   
  
Ran tilted his chin up to keep his eyes on Yohji's. "She said I was out of excuses. She said this was my life." He took in another visible breath. His shoulders squared. "If my sister is here, if she would come back anyway, I have no where and nothing other than Weiss."   
  
Yohji examined his face, but frowned. "Really. Is that it?" It wasn't enough. Yohji's hands balled into fists.   
  
It was worse, because the swordsman had looked happier than Yohji had seen him in a long time, and it wasn't because of him. It had nothing to do with him. So Ran was becoming human again, and he was still unable to connect with him.   
  
"But it wasn't really that," Ran seemed as if he were continuing to himself, eyes unfocused. "It was something she said before. I brought her to Weiss instead of a safehouse in the first place so I could protect her myself. She told me I had always protected her, and I've always tried, as her older brother. It's something I've felt recently but not understood. I joined Weiss for selfish reasons, to pay for Aya-chan's protection, to get revenge, but since then I've been trying to figure out what's kept me here. It's not just that I have no where else to go, Yohji."  
  
"It is my life now. I have finished with my revenge but there are dark beasts that need to be stopped and innocents protected." Ran had lost his smile, and was looking intently at him. "My last reasons to leave are gone. My sister and you are both here."  
  
It took a moment for Yohji to be sure he had heard correctly.  
  
Unbelievably, Ran continued, quietly. "If we are both in this, I am willing to be in this together with you."  
  
Not the most sentimental proposition Yohji had ever heard, but it was the only one that struck him hard enough that he couldn't think of a proper reply. "Does that mean...?"  
  
Ran was smiling again.  
  
Amazed, Yohji managed to keep it together enough to pursue the matter at hand. "Next time-the code -there had better not be a next time, yanno, but if you ever-"  
  
Ran reached into Yohji's back pocket. He came back with his cell phone in hand. He pressed a series of keys and put it back in. He managed to come flush against Yohji. He felt the swordsman's heart beating, even through all that fabric. "Now you have the code." Ran said, eyes trained on his face. "Send it backwards to cancel the code if it's already been sent. I have told Manx to notify all of you if..."   
  
It left Yohji's mouth dry. _Fuck, he was a goner if a simple demonstration of trust made him hard._  
  
"...if I send the code. That means you will have an option of..." Ran looked worried, and faltered. "Being involved with her placement."  
  
"Fuck!" Yohji repeated aloud.   
  
"I had told her that it was none of your business and that it was too much to ask..." Ran began.  
  
Yohji grabbed the back of Ran's head and pulled him forward into a fevered kiss. He broke away only long enough to mutter, "You're damn right I'm gonna take care of your sister for you if you're gone!" He pulled Ran's forehead to his own. He drew in a shuddery, relieved breath. "I fucking love you."   
  
He felt Ran tense, then relax. He heard the man let out a breath of his own.   
  
"Okay," Ran said.   
  
It was a start.  
  
Yohji smiled.  
  
*****


	18. Chapter 18

*****  
  
The leather of the Porsche's car seats squeaked as Yohji shifted beneath Ran. The blonde moved without breaking their rhythm, shoving Ran deeper than he would have allowed himself to go on his own.   
  
Ran's breath came out in jagged bursts, spurred by the timing of his own thrusts. Yohji's hair was spread across the headrest. His sunglasses were falling off into the backseat. Ran bent and kissed Yohji's throat, feeling the pulse beat there, then claimed his mouth.   
  
"Aren't restroom vending machines the best?" Yohji breathed. He was talking about where they had found...supplies.  
  
"Shut up." Ran commanded.   
  
Yohji grinned at him. "Yanno, you're the first man-" an intake of breath fractured his confession,"I've gone so far with. Don't get me wrong-" A gasp. "-handjobs and blowjobs-" Yohji sucked in another audible breath, "But I'm all yours, Ran-Ayan."  
  
"Shut _up_." Ran gasped.  
  
Yohji's eyes were intent on his face, and Ran suspected he knew exactly what affect those words would have on him. His own hand moved between their bodies as their motions became more frantic. Yohji writhed beneath him, one hand digging into Ran's shoulder blades, the other into the driver's seat, scrabbling for purchase. Finally it came to rest on Ran's ass, encouraging him to pick up speed and shoving against him as he pulled him forward, deeper inside. Yohji bent upwards to press his lips fiercely to Ran's. Yohji's feet thunked on the dashboard and windows. Suddenly Yohji shouted incoherently into Ran's mouth and warm moisture slicked their stomachs.   
  
Ran abandoned himself to his motions, thrusting hard, Yohji whispering encouragement. He bent his forehead to touch Yohji's, breathing in Yohji's breath. He slitted his eyes enough to see Yohji smiling at him, his expression gentle and tense at the same time.  
  
The heat built and broke suddenly. Ran shuddered and jerked; Yohji pulled him tighter to his chest.   
  
Yohji's lanky frame revealed its muscles when they were skin to skin. He was warm and solid beneath him. Despite being in a car, he'd taken the time to notice the details of Yohji, something he hadn't done on the roof or in the coffeeshop.  
  
 _I want Yohji,_ Ran realized. _More than just this._  
  
Ran lifted himself, bracing on the seat to either side of Yohji, preparing to shift back to the driver's seat. Yohji brushed an eartail back from his cheek, catching him mid-motion. Ran allowed it, shifting his eyes to meet Yohji's.   
  
Yohji smiled at him. "One of these days, we're gonna have to do this properly in a bed."  
  
Ran thunked down in the other seat, raising himself over the gear shift. He yanked up his pants and buckled them.   
  
He looked over. Yohji was lazily pulling on his own jeans, though he had to retrieve his from the back seat.   
  
He had a feeling that touching just anyone wouldn't feel like that. It was Yohji specifically moving against him. Yohji who still got through to him, even if it in the past "getting through" meant pissing him off.   
  
It meant more than that. Yohji getting him to feel anything, even anger, at a time when physical pain could have been the only thing reminding him that he was still breathing...  
  
He felt attraction. He felt concern. He felt trust. He felt a fierce protectiveness. He hadn't had the resources to care that he had known how he felt.   
  
_He felt..._  
  
 _"Is he or isn't he a good friend?"_ It was what his sister had asked him, that day they'd gone to the festival.  
  
Ran started the engine.   
  
Yohji was sprawled in the passenger seat, clothed but disheveled. He still managed to make it all look like it was on purpose, readjusting his sunglasses in the mess of his hair.   
  
The alleyway remained deserted, though passerby on the sidewalk at the far end cast intermittent shadows in the sparse light at the opening to the street. They were too far away to see anything in the dark alley. Considering where they were, Ran doubted they were the type of people who would care.  
  
"I love you." Ran said quietly. He almost couldn't hear himself over the purr of the Porche.   
  
Yohji managed to. His head whipped sideways, green eyes open so wide they were almost round.   
  
Ran smiled at him.   
  
Yohji was working his mouth like a fish.  
  
Ran pulled away from the curb to drop Yohji off at the Seven. "There's a lot of places other than beds we haven't done that," he suggested.  
  
"Holy fuck," Yohji finally coughed. "I-"  
  
Ran dropped a hand on his knee. Yohji gripped it.   
  
"Tonight?" Yohji suddenly demanded. Ran didn't miss the slight desperation in his tone. He supposed he deserved it. "Sleep with me tonight, Ran. Just sleep, I don't care, but stay-"  
  
Ran nodded.  
  
The breath Yohji let out was audible.  
  
*****  
  
Ken let out a low whistle and leaned forward in his chair, toward Omi and Aya-chan, who were sitting with their knees touching on the couch. Their hands were clasped tight between them.   
  
"So Ran really thought he was a goner that time, huh? Never thought he thought about that stuff," Ken said.  
  
"I know!" Omi looked disturbed.   
  
Ken eyed Aya-chan. In his opinion, she should look worse off than she did, but the revealation that her brother occasionally thought mortal thoughts didn't seem to surprise her much.   
  
"And you would have just - you would have just been gone..." Omi murmured at Aya-chan.  
  
She leaned toward him. "I wouldn't have stayed away, you know."  
  
"It's Kritiker! You might not have had a choice!" Omi cried.  
  
Ken leaned back in his chair and stared with concentration at the blank television screen.   
  
_Permanent third wheel, Hidaka. Spare part at the Koneko._ He did his best to refrain from rolling his eyes.  
  
He didn't know what luck Yohji and Ran were having, or if the swordsman even intended to do more than drag Yohji's (probably) drunk ass home so he could get to work on time tomorrow, but Ken couldn't help but feel utterly dejected.   
  
He missed Jun. He really did. No one else in Ken's life really cared about soccer. Plus, he'd been a nice kisser.  
  
He'd had a nice smile too.  
  
And he didn't mind that Ken could be a dork! It had been nice to have someone to laugh at his jokes. Yohji and Omi usually just rolled their eyes at him. Even if Ken thought they secretly didn't mind all that much.   
  
"Argh," Ken commented, to himself.  
  
"What was that, Ken-kun?" Omi and Aya-chan looked away from each other to shoot concerned looks at him.  
  
He flailed his arms. "Nothing! Nothing. Really."  
  
There was a click from upstairs. The door definitely opened and shut. The three Koneko housemates exchanged wide-eyed glances, then sprang to their feet.   
  
Yohji appeared in the stairwell before any of them reached it. Ran, to their surrprise, appeared a moment later, hovering a few steps up. He carried his mission coat over one arm, and the buckle on the collar of his black mission shirt was undone.  
  
Yohji, Ken was unable to keep from noticing, looked both bewildered and self-satisfied.  
  
Ken refrained from imagining.   
  
"We're back, kiddos," Yohji announced. He hooked a thumb in the waistband of his low-slung jeans.   
  
_Definitely self-satisfied,_ Ken affirmed wryly. Behind him, miracle of miracles, Ran almost appeared to be smiling.   
  
"Just wanted to make sure you were, yanno, not worried about me. Sorry for taking off earlier." His eyes found Ken's and looked serious for a moment. "Everyone doing okay?"  
  
 _Guess Omi told him about Jun. Great._ Ken forced a grin. "Yeah, great. You ass. Let us know where you are next time we're already down a member, right?"  
  
Yohji had the grace to look authentically chastised. "Yeah. Sorry."  
  
His gaze shifted off Ken. Ken followed it and saw Omi with his arm around Aya-chan, who was smiling up at the stairwell. Ran, amazingly, wasn't looking murderous, but was smiling back at his sister. They appeared to be sharing some sort of silent conversation. Aya-chan appeared to be the winner, her expression seemed pleased. Ran's looked a little wry. But maybe Ken was reading into things.  
  
The Fujimiya siblings, it seemed, had come to peace with one another.   
  
"Well, we'll leave you kids to do whatever you were doing. Glad you're chaperoning, Ken-ken, I know it makes Ran feel better about leaving his sister alone with our womanizer Omi here." Yohji winked at him.  
  
Behind him, Ran lost his smile and glowered at Yohji's head.   
  
Aya-chan giggled. Omi was reddening rapidly. Ken snorted.   
  
"We're going up. To my room, in case anyone needs us." Yohji grinned and winked again.  
  
Ran rolled his eyes. "Goodnight." He shot another, less grouchy look at his sister, who nodded at him before he left.   
  
Yohji beamed and waved a hand at them, disappearing up the stairway after Ran.  
  
Ken couldn't quite convince his eyebrows to come back down from his hairline. "Sure your brother didn't have a brain transplant at Kritiker, Aya-chan?"  
  
Aya-chan giggled, but her eyes were serious. "No!" She glanced at Omi, who looked every bit as surprised, then back to him. "This is just my brother."  
  
*****  
  
Yohji watched Ran undress, and noticed for the first time that his movements were stiff.   
  
_He really thought he was going to die,_ Yohji swallowed thickly. So Ran was back, but that didn't mean that absolutely nothing had happened.   
  
Ran met his eyes, folding his clothes over the back of a chair. He'd stripped to his black briefs. Yohji raked his eyes over him, both appreciative and concerned at the bruises he finally noticed.   
  
Ran's lips twisted up at one corner. "I'm fine, Yohji."  
  
"Poisoned, huh?" Yohji commented, trying to sound nonchalant.   
  
"Resourceful bodyguards, it's a first," Ran answered.  
  
Yohji's eyebrows shot up. He let out a surprised laugh. "I like this humor thing you've been trying out, is that something that comes with being 'Ran'?"  
  
His breath caught. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. _Dammit, Kudoh, don't draw attention to the changes._ Or maybe it was better to point them out? Healthier to show _Aya_ that it was okay to be himself here?  
  
Ran shook his head at him and sat on the edge of his mattress, across from where Yohji lay sprawled. He watched his back cautiously, appreciative of the view but wary.   
  
Ran looked over one shoulder at him. "You did that. Thank you."  
  
Yohji barely breathed. "What?"  
  
"Helped me...become Ran again." Ran took in a breath, it was silent, but Yohji saw the rise and fall of his back. "As you said. Maybe it doesn't change anything. I'm still Weiss. I could still be 'Aya', if that's what you called me."  
  
Yohji sat up, and wrapped his bare arms around Ran's shoulders. It was significant to him that Ran didn't tense, but actually leaned into the touch. "It matters. It's your name. You're not someone else." He whispered into Ran's ear. "You're not hiding from me."  
  
Yohji held his breath, afraid again that he'd said too much.   
  
Ran was silent.   
  
Yohji watched the side of his face carefully, from over his shoulder.   
  
Ran turned to face him.   
  
Suddenly Ran was kissing him, hard. Yohji responded enthusiastically, his hand latching onto Ran's head behind his eartails. Ran broke away first and looked at him, as if measuring his reaction.  
  
"Earlier," Yohji whispered, "In the car, I heard you-"  
  
"Yes," Ran said.   
  
Yohji paused, and examined him to make sure they were talking about the same thing.   
  
Ran looked amused but cautious. "I meant it, Yohji."   
  
Yohji felt himself beam. There were a lot of things he wanted to say to that, but there'd be time later when he could hopefully manage to be coherent. He settled for tugging him down onto the blankets. Ran allowed him to press their bodies together, Yohji's chest to Ran's back.   
  
Ran placed a hand on his, where he had them clasped in the middle of Ran's chest. Yohji buried his face in Ran's neck. Ran's breathing evened out.   
  
"No more ghosts between us, Ran-Ayan," Yohji mumbled, relishing the novelty of having Ran with him in an actual bed. The other man didn't answer.  
  
Yohji happily allowed himself to follow Ran into sleep.  
  
*****


	19. Epilogue

*****  
  
A herd of fangirls were barreling down the sidewalk outside the shop window toward the door. Since it was a full shift and Omi, Ken and Aya-chan were all in sight tending the shop, Ran retreated quietly to the storeroom.  
  
And threw a left hook as a hand clamped down on his right wrist.  
  
His punch was adeptly blocked by an apparently suicidal blonde assassin. Yohji met his wide-eyed glare with a slightly jittery smile. Ran found himself abruptly tugged into the storeroom, the door pulled shut behind him.  
  
Yohji put both arms to either side of his shoulders, bringing their bodies flush together with Ran's back against the door.  
  
Ran relaxed.   
  
The scent of flowers was almost overwhelming. The sounds of the full shop on the other side of the door were muffled, but the occasional squeal broke through the burble of voices. The cooler air inside the storeroom, though refreshing, made Ran's arms tingle. It was well-lit, but the light occasionally buzzed and flickered, making shadows dance over the rainbow-wall of flowers sitting on the shelves.  
  
"Glad you came back," Yohji murmured against his cheek. "Thought you were gonna take pity on the kiddos,"  
  
"I think I undervalued your lack of work ethic before," Ran said with a smirk, and tilted his head back to let Yohji press his lips to his throat.  
  
"Now that's not fair, I like working hard," Yohji grinned at him in between kisses, "My pride might be wounded that you need reminding after last night."  
  
"Memory sucks," Ran breathed, with a slight grin of his own, "Probably need a lot of reminding." He shot him a sudden, careful look. Yohji paused in his administrations to meet his eyes. "Years of reminding. If we have them."  
  
They were still. Yohji's hands were on his hips, Ran's fingers were threaded through the waves of his hair.  
  
Yohji was looking at him with that intense, soft look he'd finally come to recognize.   
  
He wondered if Yohji could see the same look in his eyes.   
  
"Yanno, I think I can accommodate," Yohji smiled at him, kissed his mouth quickly, and went lower.  
  
*****  
  
Ken mock-wiped his brow and rolled his eyes at Omi as the last of the 'customers' finally left, presumably to go home to eat dinner. They still had another hour of work left, but at least by this time, most of their business was done.  
  
The door to the storeroom opened, and their two conveniently absent and suspiciously disheveled teammates appeared. Yohji was holding Ran firmly by the hand, and before they got entirely into the shop, he planted a big kiss right on the readhead's lips.  
  
And lived. That was the really amazing part.  
  
"Get a room!" Ken roared good-naturedly. Omi and Aya-chan, who had been engaging in their own PDA, jumped in the peripheral of his vision.   
  
Yohji grinned at him. "Already did, Ken-ken, no worries."  
  
"I am never going into that storeroom again. Unless you bleach it." Ken stated flatly.  
  
Ran, at least, had the decency to look mildly mortified. Though Ken really didn't want to break into whatever brainwashing pheromone-driven wizardry Yohji had committed on the swordsman, it was nothing short of a miracle that Ran was acting pretty much human these days.  
  
The bell on the shop door tinkled. All five Koneko residents turned.  
  
A chunk of ice materialized uncomfortably in Ken's throat and slid down his esophagus to his stomach.   
  
Jun was in the doorway. His Jun.   
  
His former Jun.  
  
He didn't look around the room to take in his teammates reactions. He really hoped they'd disappear, in fact, but he knew that wasn't likely.   
  
"Maybe we should-" Aya-chan broke into the silence.  
  
"Here, help me rearrange the shop front," Omi interrupted her quickly, effectively keeping them in the room.  
  
"I'm just here to buy some flowers," Jun stated, and walked across the room to Ken. He gave him a ghost of his usual easy smile.   
  
_At least he's nervous too,_ Ken noted dourly.   
  
"There's lots of flower shops in Tokyo," he couldn't stop himself from pointing out. " _Other_ than this one."  
  
"Wanted to go to the best," Jun replied, and gave the room and his teammates a smile.  
  
"Ah," Ken said unenthusiastically.  
  
Jun clapped his hands together. "Well. You gonna help me?" He watched Ken's face carefully.  
  
"Yeah," Ken choked. What else was he supposed to do? There were lots of things he'd _rather_ do than help his boy-his ex-his former friend pick out flowers for someone else, of course. Like jam his bugnuks down his throat.  
  
"So. A bouquet for someone special," Jun said.  
  
Ken's face warmed as his expression fell, and he wondered just how long and how painful death would be by the poison in one of Omi's darts. Jun was giving him a small, wary smile despite having ripped Ken's heart out through his throat.  
  
"Yeah, right, okay. Whatcha want." Ken replied dully.  
  
"Something for friendship and something that means I care a lot for someone?" Jun said. "And something for an apology."  
  
Ken selected the appropriate flowers and handed the bouquet to Jun, ignoring his teammates bumbling about the shop and doing their worst to pretend they weren't there for the show.  
  
He rang him up. Jun didn't budge though, he looked down at the bouquet and commented, "You did a nice job, man."   
  
Jun thrust the whole thing right under Ken's nose.  
  
Ken choked. "What-?"  
  
He looked from Jun's face to the bouquet and back again. Jun waggled the flowers at him. Dazed, he took them.  
  
Jun smiled again, tentatively this time. He glanced again at the Weiss on all sides of them. "I'd like to...get to know you again." He visibly drew in a breath. "I think I can handle it. If you let me."  
  
Ken was grinning so hard it hurt. "Hell, yes."  
  
Surprisingly, it was Ran's voice that broke the silence first. "Ken, that bouquet is coming out of your salary."  
  
Jun was already taking out his wallet. Ken turned horrified eyes on Ran.   
  
The redhead was grinning at them. He shook his head and tugged Yohji out of the room.  
  
"Your teammates?" Jun looked past Ken musingly. "They're all, you know, too?"  
  
Ken waved at him to put away his wallet. He shot a smile at Omi and Aya-chan, who were trying to remain invisible near the shop front. Omi gave him a thumbs up. Aya-chan pushed Omi's hands into a less conspicuous position and gave him an encouraging smile.   
  
Ken looked back at Jun. "Yeah."  
  
"Seem decent," Jun commented. He looked thoughtful.  
  
Ken relaxed. "Yeah. They're my friends. You'll get to know them."  
  
*****  
  
 _Fin._  
  
*****


End file.
